Intelligent clearing network

ABSTRACT

A system for validating, redeeming, and financially settling coupons is described. The system includes a real time network through which a Point-of-Sale (POS) device communicates with an Intelligent Clearing Network (ICN) server. The ICN server is configured to run a real time application while in communication with the POS device, wherein the POS device transmits coupon data elements read at the POS device and other consumer transaction information including universal product codes purchased, and transaction details to the ICN server via the network. The ICN server validates the coupon data elements and provides the POS device information in order to redeem coupons. Apparatus and computer readable media are also described.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part patent application of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 13/773,704, filed Feb. 22, 2013, which is acontinuing application of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/587,193, filedOct. 2, 2009, which is a continuation-in-part patent application of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 12/283,206, filed Sep. 9, 2008, which is acontinuation-in-part patent application of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 11/439,725, filed May 23, 2006, which are hereby incorporated byreference in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to the electronic clearing, and financialsettlement of coupons coded with a barcode application identifier and,in particular, to a real time network based system and method forvalidating and redeeming paper coupons coded with, for example, abarcode identifier, such as a GSI barcode 8110 application identifier.

BACKGROUND

Coupons provide benefits to manufacturers and consumers. For example,coupons are a beneficial way for manufacturers to test consumer interestin specific products, determine optimal pricing, and move out olderinventory. Mail by the postal system, newspapers, and stores usuallyserve as outlets for providing coupons to consumers. Consumers benefitbecause coupons are universally accepted, follow GS1 (including UniformCommercial Code) guidelines, are easily understood by consumers, andrequire no prior notification to a retailer. The coupons may be clippedout from the source document.

However, the process of validating, clearing and financial settlementassociated with paper coupons can be a slow, labor intensive processpotentially prone to fraud and misuse. An extraordinary number of papercoupons are printed, distributed and redeemed each year. Once a couponis redeemed by the consumer, the paper coupon is monetized and it mustflow through the current manual clearing and settlement process beforethe retailer is reimbursed for the value of the paper coupon and thecost of handling the paper coupon. This physical paper coupon clearingprocess can be slow and manual and sometimes requires a secondindependent count of each paper coupon before a retailer is reimbursed.Also, within the current paper clearing and settlement process there canbe the issue of disputes and charge backs by the manufacture for thevalue of the redeemed paper coupon to the retailer for paper couponswhich the retailer redeemed, but should not have because they wereinvalid in some way, whether it was because the paper coupon was acopied, or was redeemed after the expiration date on the paper coupon.

Accordingly, there is need for a real time, convenient way forvalidating and processing paper coupons quickly, eliminating potentialfraud, and providing an auditable and comprehensive financial settlementprocess, which would eliminate the need for manually counting andvalidating each paper coupon redeemed.

SUMMARY

In accordance with a first aspect of the invention, a system comprisesan Intelligent Clearing Network (ICN) network; a point-of-sale (POS)terminal; a POS controller; an intelligent clearing network (ICN)server, an ICN database, and an ICN master coupon table. The POSterminal is configured to transmit at least one of 1) first coupon dataelements read from a GS1 barcode by the POS terminal, 2) universalproduct codes of an item purchased, 3) transaction detail information,4) other related information at the POS terminal to the POS controller,and 5) directly, via the ICN network, to the ICN server for couponredemption, validation, and financial settlement via the ICN network atthe ICN server.

In accordance with a second aspect of the invention, a master couponstorage medium is configured to store an ICN database. Details definingall coupons printed and distributed with a GS1 barcode are storedcentrally in the ICN database on an ICN server configured to be used tovalidate, redeem, and financially settle all coupons printed with a GS1barcode. The master coupon storage medium comprises at least one storagedevice and an interface configured to communicate with the ICN server.The ICN server is configured to communicate over an ICN network with oneor more point of sale terminals of a retailer.

In accordance with a third aspect of the invention, a method forprocessing coupons comprises reading GS1 data elements from a scannedcoupon at a point-of-sale (POS) terminal, the GS1 data elementsincluding universal product code information; transmitting the GS1 dataelements through a network to an ICN server for validation andredemption; if the ICN server validates the GS1 data elements, andtransmitting first coupon related information through the network to thePOS terminal. The POS terminal is configured to transmit second couponrelated information to a POS controller through an ICN POS bridge uponsuccessful redemption of the scanned coupon. Second coupon relatedinformation comprises identification information from the productpurchased, an application identifier, and retailer identificationinformation.

In accordance with a fourth aspect of the invention, a method forprocessing coupons comprises reading first GS1 databar coupon relatedinformation from a terminal, the first GS1 databar coupon relatedinformation including universal product code information; transmittingthe first GS1 databar coupon related information through a network to anICN server for validation and redemption; if the ICN server validatesthe first GS1 databar coupon related information, transmitting secondcoupon related information through the network to the terminal. The ICNserver transmits second GS1 databar coupon related information to a POScontroller via an ICN network, wherein the POS terminal transmits thirdGS1 databar coupon related information to the POS controller through anICN POS bridge upon successful redemption of a coupon. The third GS1databar coupon related information comprises identification informationfrom the product purchased, GS1 databar coupon code of the second couponrelated information, an application identifier, and retaileridentification information.

In accordance with a fifth aspect of the invention, a computer readablemedium storing computer code for processing GS1 databar coupons across anetwork, comprises computer code configured to transfer first GS1databar coupon related information including universal product codeinformation from a terminal across the network; computer code forreceiving, interpreting, and comparing the first GS1 databar couponrelated information at an ICN server; if a GS1 databar coupon code isvalidated, computer code for retrieving GS1 databar coupon codes and anycorresponding target universal product codes triggered by the validationof the GS1 databar coupon codes from a centralized database; computercode configured to transmit the retrieved GS1 databar coupon codes tothe terminal via the network; and computer code configured to redeem theGS1 databar coupon codes. The ICN server is configured to transmitsecond GS1 databar coupon related information to the POS controller viathe ICN network. The POS terminal is configured to transmit third GS1databar coupon related information to the POS controller through an ICNPOS data bridge upon successful redemption of a GS1 databar coupon. Thethird GS1 databar coupon related information comprises identificationinformation from the product purchased, GS1 databar coupon code of thesecond GS1 databar coupon related information, an applicationidentifier, and retailer identification information.

In a sixth aspect of the invention, a computer readable storage mediumis embodied with computer code for processing coupons across anintelligent clearing network (ICN) network. First computer code maypermit a user to download and print out a GS1 databar paper couponaccessed via the world wide web where the coupon having first GS1databar paper coupon related information. Second computer code maytransfer the first GS1 databar paper coupon related informationincluding universal product code information from a terminal across theICN network. Third computer code is configured to receive, interpret,and compare the first GS1 databar paper coupon related information at anICN server. If a GS1 databar paper coupon code is validated, fourthcomputer code may retrieve GS1 databar paper coupon codes and anycorresponding target universal product codes triggered by the validationof the GS1 databar paper coupon codes from a centralized database. Fifthcomputer code is configured to transmit the retrieved GS1 databar papercoupon codes to the terminal via the network. Sixth computer code mayredeem the GS1 databar paper coupon codes. The ICN server transmitssecond GS1 databar paper coupon related information to a point-of-sale(POS) controller via the ICN network. A POS terminal transmits third GS1databar paper coupon related information to the POS controller throughan ICN POS bridge upon successful redemption of a GS1 databar papercoupon. The third GS1 databar paper coupon related information comprisesidentification information from the product purchased, GS1 databar papercoupon code of the second coupon related information, an applicationidentifier, and retailer identification information. Seventh computercode may be executed to notify the ICN server of successful couponredemptions.

In a seventh aspect of the invention, a point of sale (POS) terminalcomprises a first interface configured to receive information regardinga transaction to purchase at least one product; a second interfaceconfigured to receive information from and transmit information to aretailer server; a processor; and a memory configured to store point ofsale bridge computer code for redeeming a manufacturer first GS1 databarpaper coupon contained in a promotion request message received throughthe second interface. The processor is configured to receive informationfrom the first interface and to receive and transmit information throughthe second interface and configured to execute the point of sale bridgecomputer code. The second GS1 databar paper coupon related informationis received via the ICN network. The POS terminal transmits third GS1databar paper coupon related information to the POS controller throughICN POS bridge upon successful redemption of a GS1 databar paper coupon,the third GS1 databar paper coupon related information comprisesidentification information from the product purchased, GS1 coupon codeof the second GS1 databar paper coupon related information, anapplication identifier, and retailer identification information. Thefirst interface is configured to communicate with a universal productcode reading device.

In a eighth aspect of the invention, a point of sale (POS) retailerserver comprises a first interface configured to receive informationfrom and transmitting information to a point of sale terminal; a secondinterface configured to receive information from and transmitinformation to an intelligent clearing network server via a network; aprocessor; and a memory configured to store computer code for a point ofsale bridge configured to format a promotion request message and sendthe promotion request message in real time to an intelligent clearingnetwork server promotion redemption real time service. The processor isconfigured to receive and transmit first GS1 databar paper couponrelated information through the first and second interfaces andconfigured to execute the point of sale bridge computer code. The POSretailer server is configured to receive second GS1 databar paper couponrelated information via the intelligent clearing network (ICN) network.The POS retailer server is configured to transmit third GS1 databarpaper coupon related information through ICN POS bridge computer codeupon successful redemption of a GS1 databar paper coupon. The first GS1databar paper coupon related information comprises identificationinformation from the product purchased, an application identifier, andretailer identification information.

In a ninth aspect of the invention, an Intelligent Clearing Network(ICN) server comprises a processor; an interface configured to permitcommunications over a network; and an ICN database. The processor of theICN server is configured to control the execution of an ICN promotionmanager application, an ICN database application, and an ICN promotionredemption service and is configured to receive and transmit data andcommands through the interface. The ICN server is configured to receivefirst coupon related information from a point of sale (POS) controller,wherein the ICN server is configured to transmit second coupon relatedinformation to the point of sale (POS) controller via an ICN network.The POS controller is configured to transmit the third coupon relatedinformation to the POS controller upon successful redemption of a GS1databar paper coupon. The third GS1 databar paper coupon relatedinformation comprises identification information from the productpurchased, an application identifier, and retailer identificationinformation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other aspects of these teachings are made more evidentin the following Detailed Description, when read in conjunction with theattached drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a system for redeeming coupons;

FIG. 2A illustrates a block diagram of a first embodiment of informationflow;

FIG. 2B illustrates a block diagram of a second embodiment ofinformation flow;

FIG. 3A illustrates an embodiment of the back side of a coupon card;

FIG. 3B illustrates an embodiment of the front side of a coupon card;

FIG. 4 illustrates a first embodiment of an insert with a card attached;

FIG. 5 illustrates a second embodiment of the coupon card utilizing RFIDtechnology;

FIG. 6 illustrates an embodiment of a coupon redemption process betweena Point of Sale terminal and an Intelligent Clearing Network server;

FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment of a coupon code format;

FIG. 8 (FIGS. 8A and 8B) illustrates an embodiment, in detail, of theprocess of generating and redeeming a coupon card;

FIG. 9 (FIGS. 9A and 9B) illustrates an alternate embodiment, in detail,of the process of generating and redeeming a coupon card;

FIG. 10 shows an embodiment of a system using trigger and target UPCsover a network;

FIG. 11 shows an embodiment of a system permitting a consumer to opt-into coupons, promotions, or incentives;

FIG. 12 (FIGS. 12A and 12B) shows an example of a process for assigningand display promotions and purchasing products advertised through thepromotions;

FIG. 13 shows an embodiment of ICN data flow;

FIG. 14 shows an embodiment of ICN incentive management;

FIG. 15 shows an embodiment of a retail environment that uses ICN;

FIG. 16 shows an embodiment of a method for entering trigger and targetUPCs through a browser;

FIG. 17 shows an embodiment of an ICN;

FIG. 18 shows an embodiment of the automated clearing house processingincorporated in a financial settlement system;

FIG. 19 shows an embodiment of a debiting and crediting process;

FIG. 20 shows an ICN system integrated with an ACH processing system;

FIG. 21 shows an embodiment of a system that may operate as the systemillustrated by FIG. 10 or 11;

FIGS. 22 (22A, 22B, and 22C) shows an embodiment of a system forprocessing a paper coupon;

FIGS. 23 (23A, 23B, and 23C) shows another embodiment of a system forprocessing a paper coupon;

FIGS. 24 (24A, 24B, and 24C) shows yet another embodiment of a systemfor processing a paper coupon;

FIG. 25 shows an embodiment of a paper coupon in accordance with thisinvention;

FIG. 26 is a logic flow diagram that illustrates the operation of anexemplary method, and a result of execution of computer programinstructions embodied on a computer readable memory, in accordance withvarious exemplary embodiments;

FIG. 27 illustrates a simplified signaling diagram in accordance with anembodiment; and

FIG. 28 shows a further embodiment of a system for processing a coupon.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Non-limiting embodiments of the invention are further described below.However, it should be appreciated that some of the features of theembodiments of the invention may be used to advantage without thecorresponding use of other features. As such, the foregoing descriptionshould be considered as merely illustrative of the principles of theinvention, and not in limitation thereof. Further, one skilled in theart may appreciate that the invention can be practiced by other than thedescribed embodiments; that these described embodiments are presentedfor the purposes of illustration and not of limitation.

Embodiments of the invention relate to a coupon processing system andmethod that allows for automatic processing of coupons and provideslinkage between a coupon card and coupon information stored in acentralized database. The coupon processing may entail validation (andinvalidation) and, when validated, redemption of the appropriatecoupon(s) or other appropriate action. The embodiments present novelways of bundling technologies, including existing technologies such asreal time communications and large volume data processing facilities,into a functioning operational platform and also present novel ways fordoing business. Consumers may use the coupon card for a variety ofproducts offered by a manufacturer and/or retailer.

Thus, according to some embodiments, a real time system is connected tothe point-of-sale (POS) terminal and or POS controller wherein the realtime system delivers manufacture paper coupon codes or GS1 paper couponcodes directly into a live transaction bypassing the POS scanner and theneed for a paper coupon to be presented and subsequently cleared andsettled manually. In another aspect of the invention, a real time systemis connected to the POS terminal and or POS controller wherein the realtime system can execute a coupon discount at the POS without any priorcoupon definition or coupon data elements of the coupon relatedinformation being loaded onto the POS system. In yet another aspect ofthe invention, a real time system is connected to the POS terminal orPOS controller wherein the real time system can determine in real timethe association between the manufacture paper coupon code or the GS1paper coupon code delivered by the real time system electronicallybypassing the scanner and the product or products the coupon discountwas applied to by the POS system.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a system for redeeming coupons associatedwith a coupon card via a centralized database. The system may be anIntelligent Clearing Network (ICN) having an ICN server 114. The ICN maybe an Intelligent Coupon Network, an Intelligent Incentive Network, anIntelligent Coupon and Incentive Network, or the like.

An ICN is a system that can provide for the electronic validation andredemption of coupons and/or incentives through real time communicationsand a centralized database, such as ICN database 116, which is coupledto the ICN server 114. The ICN server 114 executes software applicationsthat process coupons for one or more manufacturers who have transactedwith the owner of the ICN server 114 to provide such processing. The ICNserver is accessible via a retailer's wide area or other network (WAN orother network) and has an ICN promotion redemption service (PRS)installed and running in real time to accept connections over aconfigured listening transfer control protocol port. In embodiments, aplurality of manufacturer servers 110 may be configured to communicatewith the ICN server 114. The ICN server 114 may tabulate the raw data ofthe coupon processing transactions for a specific manufacturer andprovide the tabulated data to the specific manufacturer in the form ofreports.

Coupon and/or incentive processing typically include validation andredemption and the supplying of the raw data to the appropriatemanufacturer. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a coupon card may beread by a card reader 102 at a retail store or other establishment. Thecoupon information from the coupon card may then be sent to thePoint-of-Sale (POS) terminal which then may transmit the information tothe retail store server 106. The central component of a POS terminal isthe processor that executes software application(s). The POS terminalmay include a processor, memory, input/output interface circuitry, andthe software application(s) to reformat coupon information in anappropriate digital form. The retail store server may record the couponinformation and may transmit it to server 114, such as an ICN server,via a network 120. The retail store server, which may be a retail POScontroller, includes a processor and input/output interfaces, as needed,and may be implemented as a microprocessor based device, a main frame, astandalone computer, or a network of computing devices. An ICN servermay be a server dedicated solely to the processing of manufacturers'coupons and includes a processor. Associated with the server may be acentralized database 116 that is incorporated within the server or maybe a standalone device or storage system, such as a Redundant Array ofIndependent Disks (RAID). The network 120 may be an internet, such asthe World Wide Web, an intranet, an extranet, a virtual private network(VPN), a high speed dedicated communication line, or another network,and may use wired or wireless technology or a mixture of wired andwireless technology. The ICN server 114 then may notify the manufacturerof a completed transaction or completed set of transactions by sendingstatus information to the manufacturer's server 110. As in the case ofthe ICN server 114, the manufacturer's server 110 may also include aprocessor, input/output interfaces, and memory to perform the functionof processing coupons. The manufacturer's database 112 may be storedwithin a memory of the manufacturer's server 110 or as a standalonedevice or system. Instead of transmitting coupon information from theretail server 106 to the ICN server 114, the coupon information may betransmitted from the retail server 106 to the appropriate manufacturer'sserver 110 for redemption. In this alternative embodiment, themanufacturer's server 110 notifies the ICN server 114 of the couponredemption, as shown in FIG. 2B.

The coupon and/or incentive processing system (e.g., ICN system)distributes coupon codes, such as standard Uniform Code Council System 5coupon codes or GS1 coupon codes, associated with a coupon card. In anembodiment, the coupon card may be a one-use card. In anotherembodiment, the coupon card may be useable as long as at least onecoupon offer has not expired for a product that has yet to be purchasedor a product limit that has not been attained. In yet anotherembodiment, the coupon card may be updated so as to provide additionalcoupon offers to a consumer. In still a further embodiment, the couponcard may be a permanent coupon card in which coupon information isupdateable via a manufacturer's server or a coupon processing server.

Embodiments of the invention relate to information associated with acoupon card. A unique account number may be assigned to the consumercoupon card on a magnetic ink character recognition strip (i.e.,magstripe) on the back of the consumer coupon card. A magstripe card hasa strip of binding material containing ferromagnetic particles which iscapable of storing data and is read by a reader head such as may befound in magnetic card readers. The system may include a centralizeddatabase containing the unique account numbers assigned to each card anda list of available manufacturer coupon codes assigned to the accountnumbers on each coupon card. The coupon card may link the consumer atthe Point of Sale (POS) to a centralized database where the coupons,promotions, or incentives reside. The linkage of one or more coupons,promotions, or incentives to a coupon card may be set at the time thecoupon card is provided with a unique account number or shortlythereafter. In embodiments, where the coupons, promotions, or incentivesmay be updated, the coupon card account number may be linked to variouscoupons, promotions, or incentives at various times. In distributionmethods contemplated by the invention, the consumer may receive a couponcard through a variety of ways, including, but not limited to, on aproduct's package, newspapers, magazines, postal system mail, orin-store promotions. In one embodiment, during checkout, the cashierpresses a coupon card function key on the POS terminal and the consumermay slide his or her coupon card through the card reader, whereupon thePOS terminal software may establish a communications link with a server,such as the retailer's server 106 or other computing device, andtransmit the account number on the coupon card over the store's realtime communication line to the centralized database of a couponprocessing computer, such as an Intelligent Clearing Network server 114.The centralized database application may validate the account number,query the centralized database for any active coupon codes found, andtransmit the first set of digits/alphanumeric characters consisting ofinformation, such as the NSC (Number System Code), Manufacturer Number,Family Code, and Value Code of each active coupon code back to the POSterminal. Then, the POS terminal may begin a validation process tovalidate each coupon code against products purchased by the consumer forany coupon code redeemed, and the POS application, upon validation of acoupon code, may transmit back to the centralized database the secondset of digits/alphanumeric characters, corresponding to the redeemedcoupon code, such as the NSC (Number System Code), Manufacturer Number,Family Code, and Value Code. In an example of an implementation, thefirst set and second set of digits are eleven digits each in the case ofa system 5 coupon and or twelve digits each in the case of a system 99coupon. The first and second set of digits may have an equal number ofdigits/alphanumeric characters or a different number of digits oralphanumeric characters. For example, the first set of digits mayinclude 13 alphanumeric characters and the second set 11 alphanumericcharacters.

The coupon card 302 may be formed on a substrate, such as plastic orpaper or other medium that is typically flexible, sufficiently durable,and cost effective to produce. For example, a 10 mil thick plastic sheetmay be sized to the length and width of a credit card or key ring card.Thus, the coupon card may advantageously be of various sizes includingthe form of a credit card, grocery store shopper's card or key ring forease of carrying in a wallet or purse or on a key ring.

As shown in FIG. 3B, the front of the coupon card 302 may display animage 308 of one or more products for which the coupon card offers adiscount, including an image 310 of the amount and conditions of thesavings. The displayed image may be formed through printing directly onthe substrate or through application of a preprinted label. Other imageforming techniques may be used including polytronic labeling. To betterprotect the information on a coupon card, non-optically readabletechnology may be used. The non-optically readable technology mayinclude electromagnetics, magnetics, or smart card technology. As shownin FIG. 3A, in an embodiment, the back of the coupon card 302 has aswipe strip 304, preferably a Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR)strip. Alternatively, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technologyor other electromagnetics technology, such as Radio Frequency DataCommunication (RFDC), may be employed. Where an RFID coupon card isimplemented, the corresponding electronic circuitry on the coupon cardmay be formed on or adhered to the substrate of the coupon card. Yet,alternatively, optically readable technology, such as opticallyscannable bar codes, may be used. In an optically readable embodiment,coupon identification information 306 may be provided in a user viewableform on the back of the coupon card 302. In certain embodiments,biometric identification techniques may be employed. For example, in abiometric identification embodiment, a fingerprint scanning pad may beattached or placed proximate to the card reader in which acommunications link is established between the fingerprint scanning padand the POS terminal.

FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment of a coupon card using RFID technology.An antenna 502 on the coupon card 508 may transmit and receiveinformation from an RFID reader. The received information may befiltered, amplified, and digitized by processing signal circuitry 510which may then be further processed for information content by processor504. Coupled to the processor may be a memory 506. The coupon cardmemory 506 may be of one or more types of memory, including volatilememory, such as random access memory, and/or non-volatile memory, suchas battery backed random access memory and/or read only memory.

Embodiments of the invention offer a way for Consumer Package Good's(CPG) manufacturers (i.e., manufacturers of consumables such as cleaningproducts, food, beverages, clothing, and the like) to distribute GS1,Uniform Code Council guideline or other coupons without the need of anoptically readable barcode. Through a Direct Mail promotion, In-Storepromotion, or a Free-Standing Insert (FSI) in the Sunday newspaper, theconsumer may receive an insert, sheet, or flyer with a coupon cardhaving a Magnetic Ink Character Recognition strip on its back. To aid aconsumer, a shopping list 318, as shown in FIG. 4, may be provided alongwith a removable coupon card 302 detachable or removable from theinsert, sheet, or flyer 312. To further aid a consumer, couponinformation 316 may be printed or labeled on the insert, sheet, or flyer312. The coupon information, in an embodiment, may provide a list of oneor more brands with the amount of savings on a purchase; for example,Brand A's coupon may be a 50 cent off coupon, Brand B may require apurchase of two Brand B products for a savings of $2, Brand C may offera 60 cent savings when purchased with Brand D, etc. Additionally, aspace 314 may be dedicated to advertising, such as by displaying animage of one or more of the products, and another space 320 dedicated tomiscellaneous information, such as a recipe. The revenue source for thecoupons may be the manufacturer of Consumer Package Goods (CPG). The CPGmanufacturer may pay for printing and distributing coupons on the couponprocessing network, including FSI pages, Direct Mail, and In-Store, onpackage printing or labeling, coupon clearing fees, and real time datafeeds for up to date promotion analysis and accounting.

FIG. 6 illustrates an embodiment of a method for processing one or morecoupons from a coupon card. In an embodiment, contained in the MICRstrip of a coupon card is a unique number assigned to the coupon card.At the POS 602, the consumer may swipe his/her coupon card through acard reader as would be done in a debit or credit card transaction.Using the real time communication network in the store, a networkmessage may be sent 604 to the centralized database containing theunique coupon card account number along with the retailer'sidentification and location. The coupon processing server coupled to thecentralized database may validate the unique ID number 606 and searchfor available coupons assigned to the card in the coupon processingserver centralized database. Any coupon codes which have not expired orwere not previously redeemed may be transmitted back to the POS terminalfor normal validation 608 as part of a message that includes theretailer's identification and location and the identification of the POSterminal. For any coupon which is redeemed, the POS terminal may sendback a network message to the coupon processing server centralizeddatabase indicating which coupons were successfully redeemed. The couponprocessing server centralized database may update the customer record,accordingly. As shown in FIG. 6, the coupon processing server may sendthe first several (e.g., eleven) digits/alphanumeric characters of theavailable coupon codes to the POS terminal via the retail server andnetwork 610. The POS terminal may validate the coupons 612 and send theredeemed coupon code to the coupon processing server 614 as a secondseveral digits/alphanumeric characters and also, as additional digitsand alphanumeric characters, other GS1 coupon code information (e.g., bytriggering the Uniform Product Code (UPC) of the barcode informationfrom a scanned product corresponding to the coupon being redeemed), tothe coupon processing server via the network 616. The coupon processingserver may then deactivate the redeemed coupons 618. The couponprocessing server may also retrieve the remainder of the GS1 codecorresponding to each of the redeemed coupons and send this informationand information regarding the unique coupon card number and retailerinformation (e.g., location, POS terminal identification, time ofpurchase) to the corresponding CPG manufacturer.

The method of distributing, redeeming, and clearing Manufacturer Couponsmay benefit all three groups involved in the transaction—consumers,retailers, and manufacturers. The benefit to consumers is the ease ofuse because clipping and/or organizing coupons is no longer needed. Thebenefits to the retailer are reducing the labor associated withprocessing paper coupons and substantially reducing the time it takes toreceive reimbursement for the promotions from the manufacturer. Thebenefits to the manufacturer potentially include a better product forthe consumer resulting in increase response rates, real time promotiontracking, faster and more reliable accounting, and a reduction in fraudassociated with paper coupons.

Thus, embodiments disclosed provide a system and method that may be usedfor electronically distributing and clearing a variety of coupons. Eachcoupon may have a code. Each coupon code may include a base portion andan extended portion. For example, the embodiments may be used with GS1coupons, such as the formerly designated Uniform Code Council (UCC)system five and system ninety nine manufacturer coupons. GS1 formatstandards are maintained by the GS1 standards organization, formerlyknown as the Uniform Code Council. In an embodiment, similar to debit,credit and Electronic Benefit Transactions (EBT), the POS terminal readsa unique code from a coupon code and transmits this unique code to acentralized database, such as the centralized database of a couponprocessing server via a network.

An example of an implementation of the coupon processing method of theinvention is provided. A coupon card with unique coupon card accountnumber 12345678 may have a coupon for 0.50 off a 2 liter beverage drinkassigned to it; for example, 54900011050x, where x is the check digit.The check digit may be useful for paper coupons with barcodes beingscanned by a scanner. On the ICN centralized database, the full couponcode assigned to card 12345678 may include a string of digits oralphanumeric characters such as 54900011050 x 8101 0 88062 0306. Theconsumer may purchase a 2 liter beverage drink with, for example, UPCcode 0:49000:06390 and may swipe his or her coupon card. The POSterminal may transmit the coupon card account number, 12345678, to theICN server. The ICN server may then send back a corresponding couponcode, e.g. 54900011050, to the POS terminal. The POS terminal then maydetermine if the coupon code is valid through a validation process, suchas standard coupon validation routines. The POS terminal may send backto ICN a redeemed coupon code, e.g., 54900011050, and a triggering UPCproduct code, e.g., 04900006390. The ICN server may also provide in realtime to the beverage drink manufacturer the fully redeemed coupon code,the location of the redemption transaction, and the product thattriggered the redemption.

FIG. 7 shows an example of coupon format as the GS1 US format (formerlyknown as the Uniform Code Council System 5 coupon). A first portion ofthe coupon code may be GS1 US code, formerly known as the UniversalProduct Code (UPC), shown, in FIG. 7, to include a Number System Code, amanufacturer number, a family code, a value code, and a check digit. Asecond portion of the coupon code may be the ‘Extended Portion,’ whichincludes information such as Manufacturer Offer Code (MOC), ExpirationDates, Household Identifier, and associated application codes, and maycorrespond to the GS1, or European Article Numbering (EAN-128), format.The Extended Portion, as shown in FIG. 7, may include an applicationidentifier, a product number system code (NSC), a manufacturer offercode (MOC), an expiration date, another application identifier, and ahousehold identifier. While this information may be necessary to themanufacturer, it is not currently captured and the extended portion ofthe code may not even be read when scanned by the POS terminal in whichcase the manufacturer may have to wait weeks until the redeemed couponhas completed the long journey through the manual coupon clearingprocess. In contrast, with a coupon redeemed through a coupon card ofthe invention, this information is available immediately upon receivingthe network message that a particular coupon has been redeemed. Othercoupon code formats are contemplated by the invention.

The method for processing coupons may include reading first couponrelated information from a coupon card at a Point-of-Sale (POS)terminal. The first coupon related information may be householderidentifier information, account identification, or the like. The firstcoupon related information may be transmitted through a network tocoupon processing server. If the coupon processing server validates thefirst coupon related information, second coupon related information maybe transmitted from the coupon processing server through the network tothe POS terminal. The second coupon related information may be one ormore system 5 or system 99 coupon codes available to the identifiedconsumer and may include the NSC (Number System Code), ManufacturerNumber, Family Code, and Value Code.

FIG. 8 shows a flowchart of an embodiment of a method of the invention.A unique card account number, such as a unique coupon card accountnumber, may be assigned to a coupon card 802. The unique card accountnumber may be a randomly generated number, a household number, the firstportion of the coupon code of FIG. 7, or the like. Coupon codes may bethen assigned to the coupon card 804. For example, GS1 system codes maybe assigned to the coupon card. The unique card account number andcoupon codes may be loaded into the coupon processing server database806. The unique card account number may be loaded onto the MICR strip ofthe coupon card 808 through a magstripe writer. The coupon card andpromotion may be sent to the consumer 810. The consumer may present thecoupon card during checkout 812 to purchase a product that correspondsto a coupon associated with the coupon card. The cashier may select thecoupon card function key on the POS terminal keyboard 814.Alternatively, the coupon card redemption process may be initiatedautomatically through the reading of the coupon information on the card.The consumer thereupon may slide the coupon card through the card readerfor a magnetic swipe card or wave the card in proximity to a RFID reader816 which reads the unique coupon card account number. A softwareapplication of the POS terminal may transmit the unique coupon cardaccount number (as first coupon related information) to the couponprocessing server database application 818 as part of a message packagethat includes identification of the retailer and identification of thePOS terminal, either directly or via a retailer server. The couponprocessing server database application may validate the unique couponcard account number 820 or send back an error message to the POSterminal. The coupon processing server database application may searchfor the coupon code (e.g., GS1 code) assigned to the coupon card 822.For active coupons, in an embodiment, the first eleven or twelvedigits/alphanumeric characters of the coupon code consisting of the NSC(Number System Code), Manufacturer Number, Family Code, and Value Codemay be transmitted back to the POS terminal 824 in a message packagethat identifies the retailer and the POS terminal (second coupon relatedinformation). In other embodiments, a different number ofdigits/alphanumeric characters may be used. The software application atthe POS terminal initiates a validation process of each coupon codereceived against the product(s) purchased 826. For any coupon redeemed,the corresponding coupon code may be sent back to the coupon processingserver 828 along with the triggering UPC code of the correspondingproduct purchased as well as identification of the retailer and POSterminal and time of purchase (third coupon related information). Thecoupon processing server database application updates the unique couponcard account number with the redeemed coupon codes 830. Furthermore, thecoupon processing server may then retrieve the remainder of the GS1 code(i.e., the GS1 code that was not transmitted to the POS terminal) ofeach redeemed coupon and report this information as part of a report tothe corresponding CPG manufacturer. The invention is useful forproviding market intelligence quickly to a manufacturer, a benefit notknown to be provided by current technologies.

An alternative embodiment is provided in FIG. 9. The unique coupon cardaccount number may be written to an MICR strip on the coupon card 902.The magnetic strip side of a coupon card is shown 904. The coupon codemay be assigned to the card on the coupon processing server centralizeddatabase 906. A consumer may slide the coupon card through the MICRreader during a POS transaction 908. The POS software application maytransmit the read unique coupon card account number to the couponprocessing server 910 as part of a message package that identifies theretailer and the POS terminal (first coupon related information). Thecoupon processing server may check to determine if the unique couponcard account number is valid 902. If the account number is not valid,the coupon processing server may return a decline message to the POSsoftware application 914. If the account number is validated, the couponprocessing server database application may search for coupon codesassigned to the coupon card 916. A determination may be made as towhether there are active coupons available on the coupon card 918. Ifnot, the coupon processing server may return a no coupons availablemessage to the POS software application 920. If the coupon code isvalidated, active coupon codes (e.g., system 5 or 99 codes) assigned tothe card may be transmitted back to the POS for validation againstpurchases 922 as part of a message package that identifies the retailerand POS terminal (second coupon related information). For example, thefirst 11 digits of the coupon code may be transmitted to the POSterminal for validation 922. A determination may be made as toredemption of the coupon(s) 924. If there has been no redemption of thecoupon(s), the POS may resume the transaction 926. For coupons which areredeemed, the POS may send back the redeemed coupon code of the productwhich triggered the coupon redemption to the coupon processing servercentralized database 928 along with the original redeemed coupon codeinformation, the location of the retailer, identification of the POSterminal, and time of purchase (third coupon related information). Thecoupon processing server centralized database application may update theunique coupon card account number with the time, date, amount, location,and other information relating to the redemption activity 930. Thecoupon processing server may generate a report to the manufacturerregarding the coupon redemption transaction as requested or periodicallyto provide quick market intelligence to a CPG manufacturer.

Embodiments of the method of the invention may be implemented throughinstructions, stored on a computer-readable medium on a data storagedevice, which when executed by a computing device, cause the computingdevice to perform the designated operations. The instructions may bestored in computer-readable medium in a distributed fashion across twoor more computing devices or as a single computing device. The computingdevices may be one or more of the above mentioned servers. In anembodiment, the computer readable medium may be a small flash drive thatconnects to a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port of a POS terminal, aretailer server, or the like. For example, a small flash drive maymeasure less than about 10 cm.times.3 cm.times.3 cm or may havepen-sized dimensions, such as 71 mm.times.20 mm.times.8 mm.

In an embodiment, a computer readable medium storing computer code forprocessing coupons across a network in response to the non-opticalreading of a coupon card, includes computer code for readingidentification code from a coupon card that is non-optically read at aPoint of Sale terminal; computer code for processing and formatting theread identification code; computer code for transmitting the formattedidentification code across the network; computer code for receiving,interpreting, and validating the identification code at couponprocessing server; if the identification code is validated, computercode for retrieving coupon codes corresponding to the identificationcode from a centralized database; computer code for transmitting theretrieved coupon codes to the Point of Sale terminal via the network;and computer code for redeeming the coupon codes.

The coupon processing server coupon distribution and processing systemand method offers advantages including 1) being easy to use, 2) savingtime and money, 3) providing better validation, 4) expanding promotiontracking, 5) increasing response rates, and 6) reducing fraud. Thecoupon processing server coupon distribution and processing system andmethod are easy to use because there is no clipping or organizing ofcoupons and the coupon card may be discarded after the coupons areredeemed. The coupon processing server coupon distribution andprocessing system and method saves time and money because it avoids themanual counting and clearing of paper for both retailers andmanufacturers. Coupon processing server coupon distribution andprocessing system and method coupons clear electronically so thatfinancial settlements may be completed in a short period of time, suchas hours, rather than weeks or months. Coupon coding errors may becorrected immediately as manufacturers avoid the handling of misprintedcoupons that may circulate for months at a time. The coupon processingserver coupon distribution and processing system and method providesbetter validation because the expiration dates are enforced by thecoupon processing server. Expired coupons are recognized as such and arenot sent to the POS for validation. Paper coupons may not be redeemed ata POS because of a faulty barcode or improper coding or printing. Withthe coupon processing server coupon distribution and processing systemand method described herein, the use of a magnetic ink characterrecognition strip or RFID eliminates the problem of poorly printedbarcodes. Invalid coupon codes may be corrected immediately in thecentralized database. The coupon processing server coupon distributionand processing system and method expands promotion tracking with thereal time reporting of coupon redemptions. Manufacturers are providedwith the product information for the product the consumer purchased totrigger the coupon redemption. Manufacturers may track results at theindividual household level by assigning unique numbers to the extendedportion of the coupon code's application identifier.

Embodiments of the coupon processing server coupon distribution andprocessing system and method described herein also increases responserates by making the process of collecting and redeeming coupons easierand more in line with today's technology. The coupon processing servercoupon distribution and processing system and method further reducesfraud as each coupon may be redeemed only once. Advantageously, thecoupon processing server coupon distribution and processing system andmethod centralized database, in accordance with embodiments, does nottransmit to the POS a coupon which has already been redeemed. The couponprocessing server coupled to the centralized database may also track inreal time redemptions by store. Alternatively the centralized databasemay have one or more coupon processing processors built into it. Eachredemption transaction has a date and time stamp. Abnormal transactionvolumes from a particular store may be identified to prevent storepersonnel and/or others from fraudulently redeeming coupons for personalgain, to meet or exceed sales goals, and the like. The coupon processingserver coupon distribution and processing system and method may preventthe assembling of a large volume of newspaper inserts to redeem couponswithout selling the corresponding product. In another example, ifsomeone were to determine how account numbers are generated on thecoupon cards, the coupon processing serve may monitor in real time thevolume and traffic of redeemed coupons and identify abnormalities toprevent coupon counterfeiting.

A further advantage is that embodiments may be implemented to provide adirect competitor to various marketing services by distributing couponcards through Direct Mail, In-Store, and FSI or implemented as a serviceprovider to marketing services. For example, marketing servicescompanies may be charged for the distribution of coupons on the couponprocessing server in which case the business model may be executed withless expense.

If a coupon is determined to be valid, but the retailer is temporarilyout of stock, provisions may be made to issue a rain checkelectronically. The electronic rain check may be stored in thecentralized database. Alternatively, in lieu of a rain check, the couponprocessing server may offer a different product of the manufacturer at aspecial rate to the consumer.

As part of the system and method of the invention, in an embodiment,in-store scanners may also be provided to allow a consumer to revealunexpired and unused coupons available through his or her coupon card.

In an embodiment, Consumer Package Good's (CPG) manufacturers may createand maintain their own shopper card program. For example, CPGmanufacturer A may offer consumers a program in which each consumer orconsumer household may sign up for a permanent card number. A consumerusing such a coupon card may supply sufficient identification at thePoint of Sale. This identification may include a driver's license, apassport, or other identification means, such as entry of a special codeor biometrics scanning. The consumer, upon enrolling in a CPGmanufacturer's program and being assigned a permanent coupon card, maythen select discounts from CPG manufacturer A's web site in which thediscounts would then be assigned to that permanent coupon card through aregistration process using a centralized database of CPG manufacturer A.

Although some embodiments have been described with the use of a couponcard, embodiments of the invention may be practiced without a couponcard. Embodiments of the invention realized without a coupon card may befound in FIGS. 10-17 and 21. The embodiments described in FIGS. 1-9, inwhich a coupon card can be employed may also be adapted to not use acoupon card and instead to either permit a consumer to opt-in tocoupons, promotions or incentives or permit a consumer to receive adiscount on a product having a target UPC when the target product and/ora trigger product are purchased. A coupon as used herein is generally apaper, plastic, or other sufficiently physically durable incentive ordiscount having a manufacturer's UPC bar code to identify the productbeing discounted. It may generally be delivered via an FSI or directmail where paper is the delivery vehicle. An incentive may be anon-paper (e.g., purely electronic) discount (e.g., a discount notembodied on a physical medium) provided via an in-store, web or mobiledevice delivery. Both coupons and incentives may provide a vehicle fordelivering discounts that the ICN technology captures when the UPC barcode of a product being purchased is scanned at the POS terminal. Apromotion may be the event that delivers coupons and/or incentives. AnFSI paper coupon is an example of a promotion. An in-store tag incentiveoffering a discount for buying two of an item is another example of apromotion.

In addition to the embodiments referenced above in which media companieswhich produce media products may be provided with multiple coupon offerslike FSI's, (Free Standing Inserts) a control number to avoid multipleredemptions of the same coupons, and the ability to track redemptionsbased on circulation, embodiments of the invention also can allow foractivation of coupons based on or only on the contents of the consumer'sbasket, or allowing the consumer to opt into promotions via the internetor mobile device. This can allow for consumers to participate inin-store media promotions based on or only on the occurrence of thepromoted products being present in the consumer's transaction at thePOS. The ICN system can facilitate incentive management 1402. As anembodiment of a method of incentive management, FIG. 14 shows that ICNmay assign each third party (e.g., a retailer, a media company, or amanufacturer) a unique identifier 1404 to securely log into the ICNpromotion manager, a web application used for incentive management andreal time reporting. A retailer headquarters 1406 may send redemptiondata validation of offers corresponding to the UPC 1408. A manufacturermay receive detailed redemption reports in real time 1410. The ICN mayreceive redemption information as an independent third party reporter ofvalidation and redemption 1412. The ICN may generate complete redemptionreports and submit these to the CPG manufacturer or distributor if thereare no disputes 1414. The ICN may activate a bank automated clearinghouse (ACH) transfer to a retailer for incentive and handling/mediacharges 1416. Information regarding the automated clearing house (ACH)transfer may be sent to the ICN accounts receivable (AIR) management1418 which may then generate invoicing summaries andaccounts/receivables reports that may then be electronically submitted1420 to retailer headquarters 1406.

The ICN promotion manager may be a secure portal that enables completepromotion set-up and control and serves as a user interface for definingretailer identity, promotion composition, and promotion availability.The promotion manager may be implemented as a web application, and beavailable on any computer with a web browser, such as Microsoft InternetExplorer, and an Internet connection. Access to the promotion managermay be controlled by ICN through managed user ID and passwords.

FIG. 15 illustrates an embodiment of a method of invention.Manufacturers, media companies, or retailers may enter weekly promotiondetails at a single entry point through the ICN promotion manager secureweb site 1508. This may be done through an online through a program orportal on the world wide web 1510. For example, a representative for amanufacturer, media company, or retailer using the ICN promotion managermay establish start and stop dates of the promotion, the productsaffected, whether there is a trigger product and target productrelationship, etc. A media company, manufacturer, or retailer may reviewthe promotion data and submit to production for promotion execution1502. Promotion execution may involve in-store signage, online coupons,in-store kiosks, mobile devices, PDAs, etc. in which, e.g., a Brand X,Product Y is offered 1504. A shopper who sees instant savings productsin-store and on the shelf may select such products 1506. Instant savingscan be applied at checkout with all instant savings showing on thereceipt 1512. The ICN POS bridge software installed on the retailer'sPOS system (e.g., POS controller) or other device provides transactioninformation to the ICN. Then, the ICN can run redemption reports on theICN promotion clearing application and provide the results, and can makeany needed settlement, e.g. billing and payment, between themanufacturer and the retailer 1516.

Consumers may opt into Internet based promotions or mobile devicepromotions by identifying themselves and purchasing the qualifiedproducts in which the consumer might not have a physical card topresent. During the checkout process the consumer may identify himselfor herself uniquely by entering their unique ID entered when he/she optsinto the promotion on the retailer, manufacturer, or media company website. The unique ID may be included in the transaction information alongwith the UPCs or products purchased and transmitted in real time to theICN server. Or, the consumer may opt into the promotion anonymously.When the consumer opts in, he or she may use their phone or other numberas the account number which the coupon(s) would be assigned to. Forexample, he or she may provide his or her phone number to the cashier ortype it in on the keypad during checkout, or the consumer's mobiledevice or cell phone may have an image containing the consumer's cellphone number which may be scanned by the cashier. He or she may also optin using the particular retailers frequent shopper card number, thecoupon(s) would be tied to the presence of that card number or phonenumber in the POS transaction.

FIG. 12, as FIGS. 12A and 12B, shows an embodiment of a process forsetting up and using trigger and target UPCs to qualify a coupon orpromotion during a transaction. In the method of setting up trigger andtarget UPC promotions 1202, shown in FIG. 12A, the media company,manufacturer, or retailer logs into the secure ICN web based promotionmanager application to create a promotion 1204. The media company,manufacturer, or retailer may define a promotion start and end date1206, may define the manufacturer coupon by information such as UCCextended type (e.g., 8100 or 8101) 1208, and may provide UCC couponbarcode component information 1210, such as number system code,manufacturer number, family code, value code, manufacturer offer code,and expiration date 1212. The media company, manufacturer, retailer orother party may enter each of the trigger UPCs and defines the productthat must be purchased corresponding to each individual trigger UPC1214. The media company, manufacturer, retailer or other party can alsoenter the target UPCs and can define the produce that must be purchasedcorresponding to each individual trigger UPC 1214. The media company,manufacturer, retailer or other party can also enter the target UPCs anddefine to which product a specified coupon may be applied 1216. Themedia company, manufacturer, retailer or other party can advertise thesale arrangement of the trigger UPC and target UPC by varioustechniques, such as signage in a store such as a display (e.g., in-storeshelf ads), printed materials, electronic sign (e.g., floor graphics),or through an in-store kiosk or through advertisements on a web site1218.

Coupons may have trigger UPCs and target UPCs that are the same. Thatis, the UPCs which trigger the coupon are also the same UPCs which thecoupon is applied to. For example, buy two of product C, save $1.00. Inmore complex coupons and promotions, the trigger and target UPCs may bedifferent. For example, buy product C and save $1.00 on product D.

FIG. 12B shows an embodiment of a method for using trigger and targetUPCs that may be used in conjunction or separately from the method shownin FIG. 12A. Here, at a retail site, the consumer may place productswhich correspond to defined and advertised promotions created using theICN promotion manager application with trigger and target UPCs in ashopping cart, perhaps as a result of promotional signage at the retailsite 1220. The media company, manufacturer, or retailer may send theconsumer opt-in information to the ICN database in real time 1222. Whileshopping, a consumer may select the trigger and target UPCs which arepromoted online or otherwise 1224. During checkout, the consumer maypresent their unique ID which they used to opt into the Internetpromotion 1226. Then, all the UPC codes of the products then in theshopping cart may be transmitted in real time using the ICN POS bridgesoftware installed on the retailer's POS controller and POS terminal tothe ICN promotion redemption real time service running on the ICN serverin a promotion request message 1228. The ICN real time application maysearch the ICN database to locate any active promotions the consumer mayhave opted into 1230. The ICN promotion redemption real time applicationcan compare the purchased UPCs to all active promotion trigger andtarget UPCs in the ICN database to determine any tie in or bundlingrelations, for example, ones in which the purchase of a product with atrigger UPC would provide a discounted price for the purchase of theproduct with a corresponding target UPC 1232. In an example, for anyactive coupon or incentive, the first 11 digits only of the extended UCCcoupon code, the target UPC, and target UPC price may be transmittedback to the point-of-sale terminal 1234. The point-of-sale applicationattempts to validate each coupon code against the corresponding productpurchased 1236. For any coupon or incentive redeemed, the coupon codeand target UPC may be sent back to the ICN promotion redemption realtime application in the form of a promotion confirmation message 1238.The ICN promotion redemption application may update the ICN databasewith real time redemption data including the coupon redeemed and triggerand target UPCs 1240. At some point, media partners, retailers, andmanufacturers may log into the ICN database to view real time redemptiondata 1242, 1244.

The retail POS controller, the POS terminal, and the ICN server may eachinclude a processor, as discussed previously, and may have one or moreassociated memories as well as interfaces for communication with otherdevices.

In an embodiment, if the ICN promotion redemption real time applicationor the ICN database server is experiencing down time, the ICN POS bridgesoftware installed on the retailer's POS controller may automaticallyfail to a backup ICN promotion redemption real time application and amirror database maintained by the ICN.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, the ICN can beused to deliver coupons and promotions to a consumer who has opted intoa coupon or promotion by visiting the retailer, manufacturer, or mediacompany web site. In this embodiment of the invention, the retailer,manufacturer, or media company can transmit in real time or batch theconsumer opt-in information to the ICN database. The consumer opt-ininformation may include, but is not limited, to a customeridentification number which may be but is not limited to the consumer'sphone number or frequency shopper identification number, the coupons,incentives, or promotions the consumer opted into and the details of thecoupon, promotion, or incentive. The coupons, incentives, or promotionsmay be retrieved by the ICN promotion manager web application and sentover a network or directly communicated to CPG or CPG media partnerwhich may then provide the coupons, incentives, or promotions as thein-store promotion display or advertisement. Opt-in permits the consumerto participate in promotions without the requirement of printing thecoupon at home and bringing it into the store to redeem.

An embodiment where a consumer may opt-in to retrieve a coupon is shownin FIG. 11. Here, a media, manufacturer, or retailer web site 1102 orother party may display one or more selectable coupons for downloadingor other retrieval, such as fax to a consumer at a terminal. The media,manufacturer, retailer or other party may be provide promotion or coupondetails to the ICN either by manually entering the information into theweb based ICN promotion manager application 1118, or by transmitting theinformation via a web service or batch mode to the ICN promotion managerapplication 1118, including coupon codes, expiration dates, storelocation, and trigger and target UPCs. When the consumer visits 1104 themedia, manufacturer, or retailer web site 1102 and presents his or heridentification, coupons with control numbers selected by the consumermay be printed out or downloaded to the ICN promotion manager 1118 andthe ICN database 1116. When the consumer visits the retailer's store andhas been provided with knowledge as to available coupons, upon checkingout a transaction at a point-of-sale terminal 1110 or other terminal,such as when shopping from home, the point-of-sale terminal or otherterminal may provide transactional information, such as UPCs or otherproduct information through the ICN POS bridge software 1111 installedon the retailer POS terminal 1110 to the ICN POS bridge software 1109installed on the retailer's POS controller 1108. At this point, the ICNPOS bridge software 1109 installed on the retailer's store controller1108 may format a promotion request message and send the promotionrequest message in real time from the retailer's headquarters 1122 tothe ICN promotion redemption real time service 1113, via a network, suchas a retailer's wide area network 1124, which is running as a real timeservice on the ICN server 1114. The ICN promotion redemption service1113 may compare the UPCs contained in the promotion request message toall active promotions defined by the manufacturer or its representativeon the ICN database 1116. For an active promotion where the UPCscontained within the promotion request message satisfy the requirementsof that promotion, the ICN promotion redemption service may format apromotion request response message which may include portions of themanufacturer coupon code as shown in FIG. 6 plus the target UPC numberof the product the manufacturer coupon may be applied to. The promotionrequest response message may then be sent back to the ICN POS bridgesoftware 1109 installed on the retailer's store controller 1108 via theretailer's wide area network 1124 (or, other network) and the retailer'sheadquarters 1122. The ICN POS bridge software 1109 installed on theretailer's store controller 1108 may be located at one or more or eachof the retailer's stores and may then transmit the message to the ICNPOS bridge software 1111 installed on the retailer's POS terminal 1110.The retailer's POS terminal 1110 may attempt to redeem the manufacturercoupon against the target UPC contained in the promotion requestmessage. Upon completion of the checkout transaction 1106 the ICN POSbridge software 1111 may generate a redemption confirmation messagewhich may contain information regarding the success of the couponredemption process. The redemption confirmation message may betransmitted to the ICN POS bridge software 1109 installed on theretailer's store controller 1108 which can transmit the redemptionconfirmation message to the ICN promotion real time redemption service1113 running on the ICN server 1114, completing a communication loop. Inan embodiment, access to the ICN database 1116 is provided only throughthe ICN server 1114.

The details of the coupon, promotion, or incentive may include NSCNumber, Manufacturer Number, Family Code, Value Code, ApplicationIdentifier, Product NSC, MOC Code, Expiration Date, ApplicationIdentifier, Household Number, Trigger UPCs, Target UPCs, andparticipating store information may be stored in the ICN Database 1116and used to validate the purchases in real time by the ICN NetworkServer 1114. Portions of the Manufacturer coupon, promotion, orincentive may be sent down by the ICN promotion redemption service 1113to the ICN POS bridge software 1109 installed on the retailer's POScontroller 1108 and passed to the ICN POS bridge software 1111 installedon the POS terminal 1110, and then delivered to the active checkouttransaction 1106. An ICN promotion manager 1118 may set up couponsand/or promotions over a network 1120 at a media, manufacturer, orretailer web site 1102 using the ICN database 1116.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, coupons orincentives may be delivered to the consumer based on or entirely on thepresence of specific UPCs or products contained in the consumer'stransaction at the POS during checkout. An example of this embodiment isa media company advertising a savings, incentive in-store, on the web orvia a mobile device which would only require the consumer to purchasethe required UPCs or products to activate and receive the coupon orsavings.

FIG. 10 shows an embodiment in which coupons are delivered based on thepresence of specific UPCs or products in the consumer's transaction1004. An in-store or online or mobile device promotion may display oradvertise products on promotion or at a discounted price 1002. Thepromotional information may come from a manufacturer or itsrepresentative which sets up sale or discount information and interactswith the ICN promotion manager 1016 (e.g., web application) to storethis sale or discount information and other promotion details in the ICNdatabase 1014. Upon the start of a checkout transaction 1004 at the POSterminal 1006 the consumer can present a collection of products withUPCs 1004 to be purchased for scanning by the POS scanner or by manualentry through the keyboard by the cashier. In further accordance withthe embodiment, the basket of UPCs or products 1004 is communicated bythe POS terminal 1006 by means of the ICN POS bridge software 1007installed on the POS terminal 1006 to the retailer's store controller1008 which also may contain ICN POS bridge software 1009. The ICN POSbridge software 1009 installed on the retailer's store controller 1008may be located at one or more or each of the retailer's stores and mayformat a promotion request message and send the promotion requestmessage in real time via the retailer's headquarters 1022 and theretailer's wide area network 1024 from the retailer's headquarters 1022to the ICN promotion redemption real time service 1013, which is runningas a real time service on the ICN server 1012, via a network, such as aretailer's wide area network 1024. The ICN promotion redemption service1013 may compare the UPCs contained in the promotion request message toall active promotions defined by the manufacturer or its representativeon the ICN database 1014. For any active promotion where the UPCscontained within the promotion request message satisfy the requirementsof that promotion, the ICN promotion redemption service may format apromotion request response message which includes portions of themanufacturer coupon code FIG. 6 plus the target UPC number of theproduct the manufacturer coupon is to be applied to. The promotionrequest response message may then be sent back to the ICN POS bridgesoftware 1009 installed on the retailer's store controller 1008. The ICNPOS bridge software 1009 installed on retailer's store controller 1008may transmit the message to the ICN POS bridge software 1007 installedon the retailer's POS terminal 1006. The retailers POS terminal 1006 maythen attempt to redeem the manufacturer coupon against the target UPCcontained in the promotion request message. Upon completion of thecheckout transaction 1004 the ICN POS bridge software 1007 may generatea redemption confirmation message which may contain informationregarding the success of the coupon redemption process. The redemptionconfirmation message is transmitted to the ICN POS bridge software 1009installed on the retailer's store controller 1008 which may transmit theredemption confirmation message to the ICN promotion redemption service1013 running on the ICN server 1012 which then may complete thecommunication loop. In an embodiment, access to the ICN database isprovided only through the ICN server 1012.

The POS data bridge may be implemented as at least one device withsoftware that may be a configurable software suite that is physicallyinstalled on the POS environment (controller, and/or terminals, etc).The ICN Data Bridge may control various POS behavior based oninformation sent and received to and from the ICN server(s). The POSdata bridge software, in an embodiment, may have two distinct parts: oneinstalled on the POS controller in a store and the other installed oneach POS terminal in a store. Versions of the POS data bridge softwaremay be adapted as needed or desired for each unique POS vendor (e.g.,retailer). In a specific example, a POS data bridge software may beprovided for IBM 4690 POS systems in a grocery retail setting or otherPOS solutions for retail, supply chain, and/or distribution operationsof enterprises. This may include but is not limited to:

Transaction & basket information needed for promotion qualificationbeing sent to ICN server(s) via a Promotion Request. This informationmay include (but is not limited to) data such as store, lane/terminal,transaction number, cashier, date/time, loyalty card(s), and all scanneddata, including for normal, void, etc. scenarios.

Coupon & promotion information being received from ICN server(s) via aPromotion Response. The data bridge software may receive promotionalcoupon and/or incentive information back from the ICN servers to the POSterminals via the POS controller(s) and the retailer's HQ, where thepromotional coupon and/or incentive information includes but is notlimited to the coupon code/number, ICN promotion number, value of thecoupon, target item(s) which the coupon should be applied to, and textto display on the receipt describing each coupon, both for normal andvoid scenarios.

Coupon & promotional information being sent to the ICN server(s) via aRedemption Confirmation. This may include but is not limited toinformation such as the coupon's value (for hard to handle coupons suchas buy x, get x free), the ICN promotion number, the coupon code/number,the tlog date/time (the date/time logged to the tlog's transactionheader record is typically the time of the last activity of thetransaction), the gross transaction total, etc. both for redeemedpromotions or coupons and also for voided promotions or coupons.

Receiving from the ICN server(s) a Redemption ConfirmationAcknowledgement that all redeemed coupons were received and passedvalidation, or that the redemptions were invalid for a noted reason.

Voided Transaction notification being sent to the ICN server(s) via aVoided Transaction message. In the POS world this indicates the entiretransaction is over and everything within is considered null and void.

Voided Transaction Acknowledgement being received from the ICN server(s)indicating ICN has considered all activity from that transaction nulland void.

POS status information being sent to the ICN server(s) via a ClientStatus Update message. As part of regular network diagnostic updates,the ICN Data Bridge updates ICN with information such as but not limitedto the number of lanes attached to a controller, the average responsetime the POS is experiencing for message round trips, the number oferroneous or dropped message scenarios, the store number, the POSversion and vendor, the ICN Data Bridge and ICN API versions, thecurrent date/time, the date/time the ICN service started, etc.

Receiving from ICN server(s) a Client Status Update Acknowledgement.

Sending and Receiving message faults to and/or from the ICN server(s)when erroneous or unexpected scenarios are encountered.

The ICN Application Programming Interface (API) may be a piece of ICNcode built into the data bridge which controls 1) the encoding/decodingof ICN messages in either XML or ICN's binary format. The XML messageencoding protocol capability enables 3rd party integrators leveragingdevices that do not send as many messages as a POS does, and greaterease of integration. The binary message encoding protocol is compact,designed for speed and lower bandwidth requirements, which lends well toretailers with many stores that each have many lanes.

The communications between the retailer's POS controller 1008 and theretailer's headquarters 1022 may be any transmission controlprotocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP) communication network. For example,the TCP/IP communication network may be the retailer's wide area network1024. Other examples of TCP/IP communication networks that may be usedinclude digital subscriber line (DSL), T1, integrated services digitalnetwork (ISDN), multiprotocol label switching (MPLS), etc. Theretailer's headquarters 1022 itself may be a centralized point withinthe retailer's wide area network to which the ICN bridges via ICN bridgesoftware for all network connectivity. It may be the ICN's entry pointinto the retailer's network (e.g., WAN). The retailer's headquarters1022 may be the data center (e.g., single node) that facilitatescommunications with the ICN server or may be a multi-node such as formajor tier 1 retailers widely distributed geographically. Thecommunications network between the POS controller 1008 and retailer'sheadquarters 1022 may also be used between the POS controller 1108 andretailer's headquarters 1122. The retailer's headquarters 1122 may bethe same kind of retailer's headquarters as retailer's headquarters1022.

In another embodiment, FIG. 21 shows that the ICN server 2112communicates with the retailer headquarters 2122 of a retailer's WAN2124. Within the retailer's WAN 2124, the retailer PUS controller 2108communicates with the retailer headquarters 2122 via the ICN POS bridgesoftware installed on the POS controller 2108. The PUS terminal 2106 maycommunicate with the retailer POS controller 2108 via the ICN POS bridgesoftware installed on the POS terminal. Operations of analogous systemcomponents are otherwise similar to those disclosed in FIGS. 10 and 11.The local store network comprises the interconnections between POScontroller 2108 and POS terminal 2106 which permit communicationsbetween the POS controller ICN POS bridge software 2109 and the POSterminal ICN POS bridge software 2107 and any other communicationsbetween the POS controller 2108 and the POS terminal 2106. Theseinterconnections may be cable, radio frequency, optical, and/or thelike. The ICN POS bridge software 2109 may communicate also with thePromotion Redemption Service of the ICN server. The local store networkmay also be referred to as the store loop and may comprise the cablingwithin a single retail store that connects all the POS terminals to thePOS controller of the store. The in-store promotion display oradvertisement 2102 (1002, 1102) may be physical signage, displays or endcaps without an electronic hardware or may be an electronic display thatmay receive communications from a CPG or CPG media partner.

In an example of an embodiment of communications between a POS terminaland the ICN server, a promotion request message may be sent by the POSterminal to the ICN server and a promotion response message may be sentin reply by the ICN server to the POS terminal. The POS terminal and thePOS controller may communicate through the retailer's WAN through theirrespective data bridge software in a sequential flow of informationwhere the POS terminal does not communicate directly with the retailerheadquarters. In this example of an embodiment, the exchange of messagesmay follow the following routing. In transmitting the POS terminal maysend the promotion request message to the POS controller through thelocal store network (the local store network may correspond to theretailer's WAN), and the POS controller may send the promotion requestmessage to the retailer headquarter (or, hub or switch) via theretailer's WAN to the ICN promotion redemption real time service (PRS)of the ICN server whereupon the ICN PRS may access the ICN database viathe ICN network (e.g., internal ICN network). In reply, the ICN PRS,having accessed the ICN database through the ICN PRS, may send thepromotion response message to the retailer headquarters via theretailer's WAN, the retailer headquarters may send the promotionresponse message to the POS controller via the retailer's WAN (in thisand similar embodiments, neither the POS controller nor the POS terminalcommunicates directly with the ICN server), the POS controller mayreceive the promotion response message via the retailer's WAN, and maysend the promotion response message via the local store network to thePOS terminal.

An embodiment of an ICN system of the invention is shown in FIG. 17. AnICN promotion manager web application ASP .NET 1702 may access an ICNdatabase 1702, such as an SQL server. An example of such a manager webapplication is a promotion manager. Point-of-sale terminals 1712, 1714,1716 or similar devices may, during validation and redemption, access anenterprise's computer system 1708 through a retailer controller 1710. Ineach point-of-sale terminal 1712, 1714, 1716 or in a memory accessed bythe retailer controller 1710 may be installed an ICN point-of-sale databridge software that may be installed on the retailer's system whichenables communications between the ICN server and the retailer'spoint-of-sale system. The enterprise's computer system 1708 may use theICN redemption service 1706 (e.g., through a Windows service C#.NET) toaccess the ICN database 1704.

Various embodiments are contemplated by the invention. In oneembodiment, a single ICN server may serve one or more retailers(different business entities). The number of retailers assigned to asingle ICN server may depend on the size and number of divisions of theretailer. In another embodiment, multiple ICN servers (e.g., virtualservers) may be hosted on the same single ICN server such as beleveraging technology such as VMWare or logical partitions. In otherembodiments, a single ICN server may be dedicated to a retailer. Otherembodiments are contemplated by the invention.

In FIG. 17, embodiments may include various underlying retailer WANconfigurations and T1 network line (e.g., VPN tunnel, T1, frame, ISDN,DSL, Fiber). The retailer POS terminal may have its own addressable IPand not leverage a POS controller such that the POS terminal cancommunicate directly with the retailer's HQ. The retailer headquarters(HQ) may be a central network connectivity point, such as a hub orgateway, of the retailer which interfaces with the ICN server. At leastone of geographical telephony/communications, company capabilities,bandwidth requirements, and preference may factor into the selection ofnetwork connectivity between the ICN server and the retailer. Theconfiguration and type of the ICN server may vary in accordance with thesize of the retailer and the compatibility and performance of availabletechnology.

FIG. 16 illustrates an embodiment in which promotion data entrypersonnel may set up trigger products and target products through atrigger product window 1606 and a target product window 1604. Otherembodiments may provide data entry through a single window such that arelationship may be established between a trigger product and one ormore target products. The relation of trigger-to-target products may beone in which a discount is offered on the trigger product which istreated as a target product when a certain condition is met, such as buy2, get the third free. Or, the relation of trigger-to-target productsmay require the purchase of a Brand A Product Y to receive a discount ona Brand A Product Z or even a discount on Brand B Product W. Varioustrigger-to-target product relationships are contemplated includingbundling.

With embodiments of the invention, coupons may be provided for multiplepromotions; for example, dental floss may be discounted with thepurchase of toothpaste and a toothbrush. Multi-tiered offers involvingprice are also contemplated; for example, if brand X product is $2, aretailer card holder may receive the brand X product for $1.50 and, ifthe customer is in the top 20% of the retailer's customer base, mayreceive the brand X product for $1, among other types of offers. In anexample, a CPG company may partner with a retailer or a non-competitiveCPG company to offer a discount when the consumer buys both products ofboth. For example, a consumer may buy Brand C cereal and obtain a poundof Brand D bananas at no extra charge or may buy ajar of Brand P peanutbutter and receive a $1 discount on Brand J jelly.

FIG. 13 illustrates an embodiment of ICD data flow. In this particularexample, when a point-of-sale transaction is complete and the total keyhas been pressed 1302 at checkout, or after X number of items have beenscanned, X being a configurable whole number with a value of, forexample, 5 to 9, the ICN point-of-sale data bridge software may collectinformation about the items in the customer's transaction and transmitthis information to the ICN POS bridge software installed on the POScontroller. The ICN POS bridge software on the POS controller may builda promotion request message and transmit it over a network, such as awide area network, to the ICN real time promotion redemption service1304. In response, the ICN real time promotion redemption service mayreceive the promotion request and may match items in the transactionwith prospective promotions defined in the ICN database, may build apromotion response message, and transmits it over the network to the ICNPOS bridge software on the POS controller which sends the promotionresponse message to the POS terminal which originated the promotionrequest via the ICN POS bridge software 1306. The ICN promotionredemption service may be configured to optionally await confirmation ofredemption for the promotions to be delivered in the promotion responsemessage 1308. If no confirmation is required, the redemption process iscomplete 1316. Otherwise, the ICN point-of-sale bridge softwareidentifies each promotion that has been redeemed, may build a redemptionconfirmation request message, and may transmit the redemptionconfirmation request message over the network to the redemption service1310. The ICN promotion redemption service may then optionally send anacknowledgement to the point-of-sale for receipt of the redeemedpromotion list 1312. If an acknowledgement is required, the ICNpromotion redemption service can accept the list of redeemed promotions,build a redemption confirmation response, and transmit the redemptionconfirmation response over the network to the point-of-sale data bridge1314. Redemption may then be complete 1316.

Embodiments of the invention enable third party offer providers tocommunicate through one entry to point of sale and identify duplicateoffers (e.g., promotion collisions). The embodiments may be practicedpartly (but not entirely) through or entirely through rules-basedapprovals.

Embodiments of the invention can offer detailed real-time redemptiondata that can be available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week via thesecure ICN promotion manager application and summary redemption datathat can allow a manufacturer, media company, or retailer to trackpromotion performance and budget in real time. An advantage of theembodiments of the invention is that ICN technology may not require anycoupon or promotion definition data be sent ahead of time to theretailer because the ICN server in conjunction with the ICN database canmaintain and update the coupon offerings of client retailers,manufacturers, and media companies.

Embodiments of the invention having automated clearing house processingby an originating financial institution are illustrated in FIGS. 18-20.At least one embodiment illustrated in each of FIGS. 18 and 19 mayrepresent a separate system from the ICN coupon and/or incentiveprocessing system. At least one other embodiment in each of FIGS. 18 and19 may integrated with the ICN coupon and/or incentive processingsystem. In an embodiment, the ICN billing database may feed the ACHprocess with the redemption information to create the ACH financialdebit or credit in which case the ACH system is subordinate to the ICNsystem.

In embodiments of the invention, an ICN automatic clearing house (ACH)processing system may be used with the Intelligent Clearing Network. Anexample of an ACH processing system (or, subsystem) is shown in FIG. 18.The automatic clearing house system may provide an automated interfacebetween ICN's internal billing system and the ACH network providedthrough the Originating Financial Institution 1812. The ICN ACHprocessing system 1808 may create ACH files 1810 to send to theOriginating Financial Institution 1812 based partly on debit/creditsummary information from each ICN retailer database 1802, and partly onaccount/routing information stored on a secure file transfer protocol(FTP) server 1804. The ICN ACH processing system 1808 may also take careof transmitting the resulting ACH files 1810 to the OriginatingFinancial Institution 1812 via transport layer security (TLS) FTP.

In at least one embodiment, the Promotion Manager may be the inputmechanism for setting up any type of promotion, the ICN technology maythen clear the promoted items electronically and capture the redemptioninformation, and the ACH sub-system (or, financial settlement system orsub-system) may receive the captured redemption information as input andbased on the captured redemption information electronically settle thefinancial obligations of participating parties (e.g., retailer,manufacturer, etc.). In at least one of the embodiments, the inventionmay be seen as providing a full circle of electronic incentive clearingthrough financial settlement.

An ACH processing system may be configured to have the followingcapabilities:

Accumulation of transactions to process from each retailer database

Accumulation of account/metadata information from secure FTP server

Creation of ACH output file(s)

Transmittal of ACH output file(s)

Processing of return file(s) from the Originating Financial Institution

Ability to process all unprocessed debits/credits

Ability to process particular debits/credits

Logging of results and debug information for troubleshooting

Ability to schedule process(es) to run periodically

The first eight ACH processing system capabilities listed above may beprovided by a software program (or possibly several programs), such as aC# program. The last ACH processing system capability listed above maybe provided by scheduling the software program(s) to run periodicallyusing a scheduler program, such as the Windows Task Scheduler. In thisexample, the C# program(s) may accumulate unprocessed debits/creditinformation for inclusion in the ACH output file 1810 by connecting to acentralized billing database 1806 residing on the secure FTP server1804. The debit/credit information in this database may originate fromdata stored in each ICN retailer database in a table called PROMOTIONALBILLING. The retailer-specific PROMOTIONAL BILLING tables may bepopulated by stored procedures that reside within each retailerdatabase. The stored procedures may be responsible for summarizingdetailed transaction data into debit/credit entries and for enforcingapplicable business logic. The individual retailer databases may thenperiodically synchronize their billing information into the centralizedbilling database by means of SQL Server database replication.

The ACH processing system 1808 may supplement the debit/credit data itreads from the central billing database with account and routinginformation. The account and routing information may be required toreside on the secure FTP server and not be stored within the individualretailer databases. Since the central billing database may reside on thesecure FTP server, sensitive account and routing information may bestored in the same database for convenience.

In addition to account and routing information, non-sensitive metadatamay also be stored in the central billing database (for example, theexact ICN company name and transaction descriptions as they are toappear on customer bank statements). The ACH processing system may readwhatever additional metadata it needs to complete the ACH file from thecentral billing database.

The following is a (partial) list of the type of information that may beneeded when producing an ACH output file 1810 (items marked with a * aremostly unchanging in contents or value, i.e., they are static values):

Processing bank routing/transit number (i.e. routing/transit number forthe Originating Financial Institution)*

Originator # (i.e. ICN's Taxpayer ID)*

Processing bank name (i.e. Originating Financial Institution)*

Origin Name (i.e. ICN)*

Descriptions/optional data as we want it to appear on people's bankstatement*

Routing/transit number for any account that might receive a debit/credit

Account # for any account that might receive a debit/credit

Name for any account that might receive a debit/credit

Entry class code*

The C# program may create an ACH output file based on the debit/creditinformation that has been accumulated as a result of the selectedprogram options. In an embodiment, only a single output file may becreated per processing run; however, the C# program may be extended ifnecessary to support creation of multiple ACH output files in a singlerun (for example, if the debits/credits need to be logically separatedinto separate transmissions for business reasons, or if there happens tobe a maximum size for each ACH transmission and the current debit/creditload would result in an output file that exceeds this limitation, or ifthe daily debit/credit volume limit is exceeded). The ACH output filemay be written to a specified directory and named using a specifiednaming convention (e.g., as per instructions from the OriginatingFinancial Institution).

The ACH file format/record layout may be adapted for the OriginatingFinancial Institution. For example, the ACH file format/record layoutmay comprise a form and/or functionality from one or more of thefollowing:

To calculate Entry Hash in the File Control record: sum the 8-digitrouting numbers (excluding check digit) from all of the entry detailrecords, throwing out high-order digits if necessary to limit result to10 digits.

Blocks: A “block”, within the context of an ACH file for the OriginatingFinancial Institution, may be a collection of 10 records (the value 10,in a particular example, is derived from a Blocking Factor field in aFile Header record; the Originating Financial Institution may requirethat this field to always contain the value 10). The blocks for theOriginating Financial Institution may be specified to contain an evenmultiple of 10 records. If an ACH file contains a number of records thatis not divisible by 10, “filler” records (consisting of 94 bytescontaining the number 9 in each byte) may be added in this example untilan even multiple of 10 is reached. The Block Count field in the FileControl record may then contain the total number of records in the file(including filler records) divided by 10.

The File ID Modifier in the File Header record can contain anyalphanumeric character. In an embodiment, the only requirement is thatFile ID Modifier be unique if more than one file is sent in one day. TheC# program may use “A” for the first file, and may use “B”, “C”, etc. ifneeded.

The Standard Entry Code field in the Company Batch Header record maycontain either “PPD” or “CTX” to allow addenda information to besupplied.

Once the ACH output file(s) have been created, the ACH processing systemmay transmit the resulting file(s) to the Originating FinancialInstitution via TLS FTP. The ACH processing system may utilize the freecommand line utility (ftp client) “wput” for initiating a secure uploadof each file over TLS FTP (to a remote ftp server). The C# program mayinitiate calls to wput for each file it creates.

The ACH processing system 1808 may need to check periodically for returnfiles that are created by Originating Financial Institution 1812 andstored in the “Outbound” folder on Originating Financial Institution'sFTP server 1804. These files may contain information that may be ofimportance to ICN.

For example, Originating Financial Institution may create Notificationof Change (NOC) files 1810 on a daily basis. These files may containinformation like indications of debits/credits that didn't processcorrectly and notifications of changes in account/routing information.The NOC files may follow the same file format as the ACH output files.The ACH processing system may need to periodically connect to theOriginating Financial Institution FTP server via TLS FTP, look for NOCfiles, pull back any files that are detected, and take appropriateaction (e.g., transmittal of an e-mail alert to a designated ICN officerif at least some of the information in the NOC file were to require amanual intervention of some sort).

The ACH processing system may have a command line utility analogous towput (e.g., wget) for initiating a secure download of available filesover FTP TLS.

The C# program can be initiated manually from the command line by typingin the program name and providing the appropriate arguments. By default,the program may process all pending debits/credits. The C# program mayallow a user to specify command line arguments indicating whichdebits/credits need to be processed, for example, in limiting processingbased on a particular promotion, retailer, media partner, or individualdebit/credit that has failed and needs to be re-sent. The C# program maycreate log entries for every run containing summary counts and debuginformation for troubleshooting purposes. The log file may have aspecified naming convention and may be written to a specified directoryon the FTP server. The C# program(s) may be scheduled to runperiodically using the Windows Task Scheduler.

A billing system, as illustrated in FIG. 19, may generate auditableincremental credit & debit based upon the information stored in the ICNretailer database for a given promotion and the detail present in theRedemptions structure.

For a promotion (at least one promotion or every promotion), thefollowing entities, as shown in FIG. 19, may exist for billing purposesand tie directly back to a promotion definition in the PromotionManager:

1. Promotion Sponsor 1902 (who gets debited for the promotion'sliability) The promotion sponsor is the party that has agreed to pay forthe promotion activity. The promotion sponsor may be a retailer, amanufacturer, or another entity.

2. Retailer 1906 (who gets credited back for the promotion, plus x centsper redemption)

3. ICN 1904 (a transaction fee, clearing fee, and/or processing fee maybe paid to ICN from a portion of money debited from the promotionsponsor)

Note that for each of the 3 entities above, there may be “billing rates”that dictate, by company ICN deals with, for credits and debits. The perredemption “billing rate” for debits and for credits can be separate anddifferent for each company.

An example of a process for debiting and crediting between a retailer,the ICN, and the promotion sponsor.

Step 1—debit the promotion sponsor in the amount of coupons dispensed,plus ICN clearing rate, plus retailer credit rate 1903

Step 2—ICN hold funds debited for, e.g., minimum of 3 days, ICN keepclearing rate total debited from promotion sponsor 1905

Step 3—credit the retailer amount of coupons dispensed, plus theircredit rate (4 cents by default) 1907

Thus for any promotion run by a Promotion Sponsor, assuming there are100 redemptions of a 50 cent coupon, and assuming the Promotion Sponsorhas a debit rate of 10 cents per redemption and the retailer has acredit rate of 4 cents per redemption, the following example is meant toillustrate aspects of the processing:

1. Promotion Sponsor debit=$64.00, broken down as follows:

Sponsor Liability (100 redemptions*50 cents per redemption)=$50.00

ICN clearing fees (100 redemptions*10 cents per redemption)=$10.00

Retailer clearing credits (100 redemptions*4 cents per redemption)=$4.00

2. ICN clearing fees=$10.00, broken down as follows:

ICN clearing fees (see Sponsor debit above, left in ICN account aftercredits & debits settled)=$10.00

3. Retailer clearing credits=$54.00, broken down as follows:

Sponsor Liability (see above)=$50.00

Retailer clearing credits (see above)=$4.00

Modifications to the above billing processing example may be made inpart or all of the following manner:

1. When a Retailer is running their own promotion and is the sponsor,the retailer may not receive a credit—they may get debited. A retailermay be credited for a promotion.

2. A Promotion Sponsor can be a Retailer, Media Partner, or CPG. Thepromotion sponsor can be the company funding the promotion andresponsible for the amount they may be debited (coupon value and billingrate considered).

Other variations may be made to the billing processing such as byincorporating one or more of the following features:

1. Promotion Billing data definition language (DDL) structure. This mayat the retailer level for storage of billing info and calculationsleverage, and includes the full trail of billing activity and be fullyauditable.

2. Promotion Billing Stored Procedure(s). The procedure(s) can beresponsible for performing the background processing for billing and maybe run scheduled and/or manually as needed. The procedure(s) may beresponsible for identifying each active promotion, inspecting theTRANSACTIONS & REDEMPTIONS tables for that promotion, and populating thePromoBilling table structure with totals for this promotion billingcycle. The procedure(s) may also inspect the PromoBilling structure toknow where it left off last time for billing for a given promotion toavoid faulty scenarios such as double billing.

4. Basic Billing Report. This report may be visible in the PromotionManager so anyone with the appropriate permissions may view it. Thereport may tie back to promotion visibility rules as well, and based onwhat role the user has (sponsor, retailer, executor), may displayappropriate data.

5. Invoice Report & transmission. This may be similar to Basic Billingreport and may need to be transmitted to each company ICN issues ACHtransactions to.

6. Replication of local retailer Promotion Billing structure to centralACH Billing database structure. The ACH system may be provided with acopy of each retailer's Promotion Billing structure, and may need toreport updates back to the individual retailer database. This mayinitially be accommodated by SQL Server merge replication and mayrequire some configuration effort.

FIG. 20 illustrates an embodiment of an ICN billing and ACH financialsettlement system 2000. Initially 2022, a manufacturer or media company2020 may set up promotions stored by the ICN server 2014 on the ICNdatabase 2018. Promotions form a retailer site 2002 may also be storedby the ICN system 2012. Conversely, or additionally, manufacturer'sand/or media company promotions stored in the ICN database 2018 may bedownloaded to the retailer site 2002. At the retailer site 2002, theremay be a POS controller 2004 with ICN POS bridge software 2006 and atleast one retailer POS terminal 2008 with its ICN POS bridge software2010. Redemption data may be stored in the ICN database 2018 and laterretrieved via the ICN server 2014 by FTP server 2034. The FTP server maybe structured as in FIG. 18 and comprise a central billing database andsensitive data storage 2036, the ACH processing system 2038, and ACH/NOCfiles 2040. Transaction data from the FTP server 2034 may be provided toan originating financial institution, such as bank ABC 2032. Thistransaction data is used to debit the manufacturer's or media company'sbank account 2030 and credit the retailer's bank account 2028. Auditreports 2026 from the ICN server 2024 may be provided to themanufacturer or media company 2020. The ICN server 2024 may be part ofthe ICN server 2014.

In view of the foregoing, it can be seen that as alternative to acoupon, Applicant has provided for a coupon card in embodiments. Inother embodiments, a coupon card is not employed. Thus, many options andadvantages are offered by Applicant's embodiments. For example, althougha coupon card is convenient, there may be times where a coupon card isnot preferred for conducting consumer transactions with, e.g., aretailer or wholesaler.

Also, embodiments of Applicant's invention can provide a coupon and/orincentive redeemer with information as to the entire purchases made by aconsumer or in a transaction. Embodiments can provide the manufacturerand retailer with information in a complete and real time manner.

Accordingly, embodiments of the invention can provide for real timecoupon and/or incentive validation in which data about entiretransactions are provided in real time to an Intelligent ClearingNetwork that can avoid multiple redemptions of the same coupons and/orincentives and can avoid redeeming a coupon and/or incentive against anunintended product. The current business model also can allow foractivation of coupons and/or incentives based on or only on the contentsof the consumer's basket, or allowing the consumer to opt intopromotions via the internet. This can allow for consumers to participatein in-store media promotions based on or only on the occurrence of thepromoted products being present in the consumer's transaction at thePOS. This also can allow consumers to opt into internet based promotionsby identifying themselves and purchasing the qualified products.

Not only can embodiments of the invention allow for the redemption ofcoupons found in Free Standing Inserts, but also can permit thevalidation and redemption of coupons and/or incentives found viain-store promotions or on the internet. During the checkout process at apoint-of-sale terminal, a series of events may occur: sale data istransmitted via a wide area network from a retailer site to anenterprise (e.g., retailer headquarters), the enterprise forwards datavia high-speed connection to the Intelligent Clearing Network servers,Intelligent Clearing Network application software determines thatpromotion parameters are met, and if the promotion parameters are met,the Intelligent Clearing Network returns information to the enterpriseand point-of-sale terminal that the consumer has satisfied the promotionparameters and the coupon and/or incentive offer has been redeemed. Itis possible that the entire coupon and/or incentive redemption processmay be completed in one second or less.

In one or more embodiments of the invention, a system for redeemingcoupons comprises a network through which a Point-of-Sale (POS) terminalcommunicates, through a POS controller, with an Intelligent ClearingNetwork (ICN) server. One or both of the POS terminal and POS controllerare installed with POS bridge software. The ICN server is configured torun a real time software application while in communication with the POSterminal, wherein the POS terminal transmits coupon transactioninformation including universal product codes to the ICN server via thenetwork. Coupons and incentives can be redeemed when the consumerpurchases the products promoted by a media company, manufacturer orretailer on the internet or in-store or other promotional materials suchas newspapers, magazines, and direct mail. The system may use triggeruniversal product codes to validate coupons and/or incentives and targetuniversal product codes to properly redeem coupons.

Clearing GS1 Databar Paper Coupons Using the ICN Technology

GS1 Databar is a barcode standard, which provides for expandedinformation to be provided in a barcode. The GS1 Databar is scheduled toreplace the old UPC-A type barcode on all paper coupons printed anddistributed in the U.S. in January 2010. A Retailer may upgrade its POSSoftware and Scanner Software and even replace physical equipment, suchas scanners, to read the GS1 Databar. After January 2010, it is possiblethat only the new GS1 Databar will be printed on a paper coupon andretailers may be required to update their systems or, otherwise, havetheir cashiers manually enter the coupon value through the POS TerminalKeyboard.

The new GS1 Databar contains detailed new data elements that can be readby the ICN Data bridge system, including software or code, wheninstalled on the POS Terminal scanning the paper coupons. The newdetailed information need not be captured by the POS system or passedonto the Coupon distributors to facilitate electronic clearing of thepaper coupon with the new GS1 Databar. Advantageously, embodiments ofthe invention, can read these new data elements in Real Time andelectronically clear the paper coupon.

Electronic Clearing of GS1 Databar 8110 Coupons

There are methodologies for electronically clearing paper GS1 databarpaper coupons, specifically 8110 Application Identifier coded coupons,which differ in form and function from the historic 8100, 8101, and 8102coded coupons.

The GS1 Databar 8110 Coupon Background

GS1 Databar 8110 coupon expands common existing 8100, 8101, and 8102coupon fields and introduces additional optional fields. Fields for GS1databar paper coupons include, which may be required: 1) the ApplicationIdentifier, 2) Primary Company Prefix, 3) Offer Code, 4) Save Value, 5)Primary Purchase Requirement, 6) Primary Purchase Requirement Code, andlastly 7) Primary Purchase Family Code. These fields coupled withseveral additional optional fields make fraud proof redemptionspossible. Those optional fields of interest include primarily theOptional Data Field 5, the Serial Number, coupled with Optional DataFields 3 and 4, Expiration Date and Start Date respectively.

Fraud Proof Redemptions of 8110 Coupons

The 8110 Coupon fields coupled with a uniquely assigned serial numberyield a unique physical existence of a coupon. Coupon printers may beset up to adhere to ranges of serial numbers, both for uniqueness andalso for tracking printed coupon quantities. A physically unique coupon(8110 required fields+option serial number) may then be validatedagainst a central host system to determine if it's been redeemed yet ornot. If it has not yet been redeemed, the central host system canindicate that the coupon is unredeemed and log a redemption to ensurethe uniquely identified coupon cannot be redeemed again. The cashier maythen dispose of the coupon, no other validation or method for countingbeing required. The optional fields of Expiration Date and Start Datemay also be inspected by the host system to ensure redemption fallswithin the designated active period of the coupon, to eliminate humancashier error and also fraud.

Different processes, which ICN may deploy to clear paper coupons withthe new GS1 Databar, include.

1. The GS1 Databar on the paper coupon does not have a unique serialnumber as described in the GS1 8110 application code (i.e., anon-serialization embodiment).

2. The GS1 Databar on the paper coupon does have a unique serial numberas described in the GS1 8110 application code (i.e., a serializationembodiment).

In accordance with an aspect of the invention, a system is provided thatcomprises an Intelligent Clearing Network (ICN) network; a point-of-sale(POS) terminal; a POS controller; an ICN server, wherein the POSterminal transmits first data elements of the GS 1 barcode printed onthe paper coupon along with other transaction information to the POScontroller or directly to the ICN server via the ICN network for realtime paper coupon validation and or the recording of the GS1 barcodedata elements along with transaction details in the ICN database.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a paper coupon witha GS1 barcode and an 8110 application identifier may be scanned at thePOS terminal and the data elements contained within the GS1 barcode maythen be transmitted to the ICN Server via the ICN Network. The GS1barcode data elements may include but are not limited to the Manufacturenumber, Manufacture offer code, Coupon value, Coupon expiration date,Coupon family code, Coupon serial number and Universal Product Codes ofrequired product purchases. Also, transaction details including but notlimited to Current date and time, Store number, Transaction number, Lanenumber, Cashier number, Universal Product Codes of all items purchasedin the transaction, and the Consumer loyalty ID number if present, maybe transmitted to the ICN server via the ICN network. All of these dataelements can be written to the ICN database.

In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, a paper couponcoded with a GS1 barcode and 8110 application identifier which isscanned at the POS terminal and does not contain a unique serial numbermay be validated in real time by the ICN server via the ICN networkbefore the paper coupon can be redeemed. The ICN server may validate theexpiration date included in the GS1 barcode data elements transmitted tothe ICN server with the current date and send a message via the ICNnetwork to the POS terminal as to whether the paper coupon is valid. Ifthe current date is less than or equal to the coupon expiration date,the message from the ICN server to the POS terminal may instruct the POSterminal to redeem the paper coupon. If the current date is greater thanthe expiration date of the paper coupon the message from the ICN serverto the POS terminal may instruct the POS terminal to not redeem thepaper coupon. A paper coupon which is determined to be valid and whichis redeemed by the POS terminal data elements from the GS1 barcode andother detailed transaction information may be recorded in the ICNdatabase. Those data elements may include, but are not limited toManufacture number from the GS1 barcode, Manufacture offer code from theGS1 barcode, Expiration date from the GS1 barcode, Coupon value from theGS1 barcode, Family code from the GS1 barcode, Coupon type from the GS1barcode, UPC product codes of required purchases from the GS1 barcodealong with transaction detail information including but not limited toCurrent Date and Time, Store number, Transaction number, Lane, Cashiernumber, Customer loyalty card number, and all UPC product codespurchased in the transaction.

In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, a paper couponwith a GS1 barcode and 8110 application identifier which is scanned atthe POS terminal and which does not contain a unique serial number maybe validated in real time by the ICN server via the ICN network beforethe paper coupon can be redeemed. The ICN server may validate the familycode included in the GS1 barcode data elements transmitted to the ICNserver against the family codes assigned to the universal product codespurchased during the transaction and the master family code table in theICN Database and send a message via the ICN network to the POS terminalas to whether the paper coupon purchase requirements have been met. Ifthe family code contained within the GS1 barcode matches the family codeof any of the purchased products in the transaction when compared to themaster family code table in the ICN Database the message from the ICNserver to the POS terminal may instruct the POS terminal to redeem thepaper coupon. If the family code contained within the GS1 barcode doesnot match the family code of any of the purchased products in thetransaction when compared to the master family code table in the ICNDatabase the message from the ICN server to the POS terminal mayinstruct the POS terminal to not redeem the paper coupon. For a papercoupon which is valid and redeemed by the POS terminal data elementsfrom the GS1 barcode and other detailed transaction information will berecorded in the ICN database. Those data elements include but are notlimited to Manufacture number from the GS1 barcode, Manufacture offercode from the GS1 barcode, Expiration date from the GS1 barcode, Couponvalue from the GS1 barcode, Family code from the GS1 barcode, Coupontype from the GS1 barcode, UPC product codes of required purchases fromthe GS1 barcode along with transaction detail information including butnot limited to Current Date and Time, Store number, Transaction number,Lane, Cashier number, Customer loyalty card number, and all UPC productcodes purchased in the transaction.

In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, a paper couponwith a GS1 barcode and 8110 application identifier which is scanned atthe POS terminal and which does not contain a unique serial number maybe validated in real time by the ICN server via the ICN network beforethe paper coupon may be redeemed. The ICN server may validate the couponvalue included in the GS1 barcode data elements transmitted to the ICNserver against the master coupon table on the ICN Database and send amessage via the ICN network to the POS terminal as to whether the papercoupon is valid. If the value contained within the GS1 barcode matchesthe value assigned to the coupon in master coupon table in the ICNDatabase the message from the ICN server to the POS terminal mayinstruct the POS terminal to redeem the paper coupon. If the valuecontained within the GS1 barcode does not match the value assigned tothe coupon in master coupon table in the ICN Database the message fromthe ICN server to the POS terminal may instruct the POS terminal to notredeem the paper coupon. For a paper coupon which is valid and redeemedby the POS terminal data elements from the GS1 barcode and otherdetailed transaction information may be recorded in the ICN database.Those data elements may include but are not limited to Manufacturenumber from the GS1 barcode, Manufacture offer code from the GS1barcode, Expiration date from the GS1 barcode, Coupon value from the GS1barcode, Family code from the GS1 barcode, Coupon type from the GS1barcode, UPC product codes of required purchases from the GS1 barcodealong with transaction detail information including but not limited toCurrent Date and Time, Store number, Transaction number, Lane, Cashiernumber, Customer loyalty card number, and all UPC product codespurchased in the transaction.

In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, a paper couponwith a GS1 barcode and 8110 application identifier which is scanned atthe POS terminal and which does not contain a unique serial number maybe validated in real time by the ICN server via the ICN network beforethe paper coupon can be redeemed. The ICN server may validate the couponManufacture Offer Code included in the GS1 barcode data elementstransmitted to the ICN server against the master coupon table on the ICNDatabase and send a message via the ICN network to the POS terminal asto whether the paper coupon is valid. The master coupon table, in anon-limiting embodiment, may list coupon identification information,required purchase information, start and expiration dates, and otherpertinent information. If the Manufacture Offer Code contained withinthe GS1 barcode matches a valid Manufacture Offer Code in the mastercoupon table in the ICN Database the message from the ICN server to thePOS terminal may instruct the POS terminal to redeem the paper coupon.If the Manufacture Offer Code contained within the GS1 barcode does notmatch the a valid Manufacture Offer Code in master coupon table in theICN Database the message from the ICN server to the POS terminal mayinstruct the POS terminal to not redeem the paper coupon. For a papercoupon which is valid and redeemed by the POS terminal data elementsfrom the GS1 barcode and other detailed transaction information may berecorded in the ICN database. Those data elements may include but arenot limited to Manufacture number from the GS1 barcode, Manufactureoffer code from the GS1 barcode, Expiration date from the GS1 barcode,Coupon value from the GS1 barcode, Family code from the GS1 barcode,Coupon type from the GS1 barcode, UPC product codes of requiredpurchases from the GS1 barcode along with transaction detail informationincluding but not limited to Current Date and Time, Store number,Transaction number, Lane, Cashier number, Customer loyalty card number,and all UPC product codes purchased in the transaction.

In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, a paper couponwith a GS1 barcode and 8110 application identifier which is scanned atthe POS terminal and which does not contain a unique serial number maybe validated in real time by the ICN server via the ICN network beforethe paper coupon can be redeemed. The ICN server may validate thecorrect products were purchased by the consumer as defined in the GS1barcode 8110 application identifier or as defined in the master coupontable on the ICN Database and send a message via the ICN network to thePOS terminal as to whether the required purchases have been met by theconsumer. If the purchase requirements have been met by the consumer ascompared to the GS1 barcode 8110 application identifier or the ICNmaster coupon table the message from the ICN server to the POS terminalmay instruct the POS terminal to redeem the paper coupon. If thepurchase requirements have not been met by the consumer as compared tothe GS1 barcode 8110 application identifier or the ICN master coupontable the message from the ICN server to the POS terminal may instructthe POS terminal to not redeem the paper coupon. For a paper couponwhich is valid and redeemed by the POS terminal data elements from theGS1 barcode and other detailed transaction information may be recordedin the ICN database. Those data elements may include but are not limitedto Manufacture number from the GS1 barcode, Manufacture offer code fromthe GS1 barcode, Expiration date from the GS1 barcode, Coupon value fromthe GS1 barcode, Family code from the GS1 barcode, Coupon type from theGS1 barcode, UPC product codes of required purchases from the GS1barcode along with transaction detail information including but notlimited to Current Date and Time, Store number, Transaction number,Lane, Cashier number, Customer loyalty card number, and all UPC productcodes purchased in the transaction.

In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, a paper couponwith a GS1 barcode and 8110 application identifier which is scanned atthe POS terminal and which contains a unique serial number may bevalidated in real time by the ICN server via the ICN network before thepaper coupon can be redeemed. The ICN server may validate the uniqueserial number contained in the GS1 barcode against the ICN Master CouponDatabase which may contain a table of all unique serial numbers assignedto and printed on all paper coupons. If the unique serial numbercontained within the GS1 barcode of the coupon matches a valid serialnumber in the master coupon table of the ICN Database and the coupon hasnot been redeemed previously the message from the ICN server to the POSterminal may instruct the POS terminal to redeem the paper coupon. Ifthe unique serial number contained within the GS1 barcode of the coupondoes not match a valid serial number in the master coupon table of theICN Database or the coupon has been redeemed previously, the messagefrom the ICN server to the POS terminal may instruct the POS terminal tonot redeem the paper coupon. For a paper coupon which is valid andredeemed by the POS terminal data elements from the GS1 barcode andother detailed transaction information may be recorded in the ICNdatabase. Those data elements may include but are not limited tomanufacture number from the GS1 barcode, Manufacture offer code from theGS1 barcode, Expiration date from the GS1 barcode, Coupon value from theGS1 barcode, Family code from the GS1 barcode, Coupon type from the GS1barcode, UPC product codes of required purchases from the GS1 barcodealong with transaction detail information including but not limited toDate, Time, Store number, Transaction number, Lane, Cashier number,Customer loyalty card number, and all UPC product codes purchased in thetransaction.

In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, Consumer PackageGoods companies who distribute paper coupons, media companies whodistribute paper coupons, paper coupon distributors, and paper couponprinters may transmit via the ICN Web service or a batch file in apredefined format all coupon details coded in the GS1 barcode along withindividual coupon distribution counts and circulation information whichmay be written to the ICN Master coupon table in the ICN Database. Thesecoupon details may be used to validate coupons when they are scanned inreal time at the POS terminal via the ICN POS Data bridge, the ICNnetwork, the ICN server, and the ICN real time service.

In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, paper couponswhich have been redeemed via the ICN network may be clearedelectronically and financial settlement may occur via theafore-referenced ICN ACH billing system. When an expiration date of acoupon defined in the ICN master coupon table in the ICN Database isgreater than the current system date an automated billing process on theICN server may be executed. This process may query the ICN Database andidentify all paper coupons which match the paper coupon defined in theICN Master coupon table in which the promotional period has ended andwere redeemed during the coupon promotion period. Invoices may begenerated which will contain detailed transaction level information ofall paper coupon redemptions. The detailed invoices may include but arenot limited to the following data elements, Invoice date, Invoicenumber, Billing address information, quantity of paper coupons redeemed,value of paper coupon redeemed, products purchased with redeemed papercoupons, retailer, date, time, store, lane, and any processing fees. Ona predetermined schedule agreed upon by the Manufacture and ICN, foreach paper coupon promotion which has concluded and detailed invoiceshave been created and approved by the Manufacture the ICN ACH billingsystem may debit the appropriate Manufacture bank account the total facevalue of all paper coupons included in the invoice along with anyprocessing or handling fees. On a predetermined schedule agreed upon bythe Manufacture, the Retailer, and ICN for each paper coupon promotionwhich has concluded, detailed invoices may be created and approved bythe Manufacture. The ICN ACH billing system may credit the appropriateRetailer's bank account the total face value of all paper couponsredeemed at the Retailer's store locations included in the invoice alongwith any processing or handling fees.

Embodiments of the invention offer improvements over prior scenarioswhere, for example, the following actions occur: 1) A cashier begins toscan any paper coupons the consumer presents. 2) For each paper couponscanned GS1 information is captured including:

Manufacture or CPG number

Family Code

Value or Value Code

MOC Code (Manufacture Offer Code—This number ties to the CPG budget forthe coupon redeemed)

Serial number (Unique identifier)

Application identifier (8100, 8101, 8110)

Target UPCs.

Expiration Date

Start Date

3) Captured GS1 Coupon information is sent to ICN in real time. 4) Atthe end of the cashier's shift, the terminal and till containing cash,debit, credit, food stamps, and paper coupons are settled by thebookkeeper. The POS system can keep track of all the financialtransactions including paper coupons. If the system says the cashierscanned, e.g., $10.00 in paper coupons then the bookkeeper validate bycounting the value of the paper coupons. Once all totals are in orderthe terminal, cashier, and till are considered reconciled or settled. 5)At the end of each day ALL paper coupons are bundled together andshipped from the store to the retailer's HQ. 6) At the retailer's HQ thecoupons from all stores are counted and bundled together and shipped tothe Retailer's Clearing Agent. 7) The clearing agent counts every couponand bundles then together by CPG and MOC creating a dollar total foreach coupon promotion which is billed to the CPG on behalf of theRetailer. 8) The CPG can request a second count which would be done bythe CPG's clearing agent. 9) Sooner or later an invoice is sent to theCPG and eventually the Retailer is reimbursed for the value of thecoupon plus a handling fee.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, steps 5 to 8of the above process may be replaced or augmented by the followingsteps. 1) ICN would capture in real time the paper coupon informationwhen it is scanned. 2) At the end of the cashier's shift, the terminaland till containing cash, debit, credit, food stamps, and paper couponsare settled by the bookkeeper. The POS system keeps track of all thefinancial transactions including paper coupons. If the system indicatesthat the cashier scanned, for example, $10.00 in paper coupons then thebookkeeper can validate by counting the value of the paper coupons. Onceall totals are in order the terminal, cashier, and till are consideredreconciled or settled. 3) All paper coupons reconciled for a particularday may be removed from circulation or destroyed by the bookkeeper or atthe Retailer's HQ (TBD). 4) On a daily basis ICN would reconcile thepaper coupons with the information captured and process them through theafore-described ACH settlement system, which can be used for settlingICN digital promotions. This would eliminate the need to have the papercoupons physically counted by multiple clearing agents and turn a paperfinancial transaction taking weeks or months into a electronictransaction which can be settled in days.

FIG. 22 illustrates embodiments of the invention in which a paper couponis processed. In an example of this embodiment, the ICN is capturing theGS1 data elements, not validating them against an ICN database. In step2202, a consumer may obtain a paper coupon coded with GS1 databar. Instep 2204, during checkout, the consumer may provide the paper coupon tothe cashier who scans them in or the consumer scans in the couponshimself or herself. In step 2206, a determination is made as to whetherthe GS1 databar includes a unique serial number. In step 2208, once thecoupon is validated and redeemed by the POS, the ICN POS data bridge maytransmit specified data elements from each paper coupon to the ICNdatabase. In step 2210, the scanned coupon data elements may be storedin the ICN database along with associated transaction detail elements.In step 2212, at the end of the cashier's shift, the store bookkeepermay reconcile the value of the coupons in the cash drawer with thetotals accumulated with the POS system. In step 2214, on a regularbasis, the reconciled coupons from each store may be bundled togetherand shipped to the retailer's HQ. In step 2216, the retailer'saccounting department may log into the ICN promotion manager and run acoupon audit report which provides the following detailed and summaryinformation by date. In step 2218, the audit report may be sent to themanufacture for their approval. Once approved, the retailer orretailer's agent may be authorized to destroy the paper coupons takingthem out of circulation. In step 2220, on a predetermined schedule, suchas on a weekly or monthly basis, the ICN ACH settlement system mayproduce invoices for all coupon promotions which have been approved forbilling. In step 2222, the ICN ACH settlement system may debit themanufacture pre-assigned bank account for each retailer. In step 2224,the ICN ACH settlement system may credit the retailer's pre-assignedbank account.

FIG. 23 illustrates an embodiment of the invention in which a papercoupon is processed. In an example of this embodiment, the ICN isvalidating the GS1 data elements for a paper coupon without a uniqueserial number printed on it. In step 2302, a consumer may obtain a papercoupon coded with GS1 databar. In step 2304, during checkout, theconsumer may provide the paper coupon to the cashier who scans them inor the consumer scans in the coupons himself or herself. In step 2306, adetermination is made as to whether the GS1 databar includes a uniqueserial number. In step 2308, a description of examples of data elementsto be validated in real time may be provided. In step 2310, adetermination is made as to whether the coupon is valid. In step 2320,the scanned coupon data elements may be stored in the ICN database alongwith associated transaction detail elements. In step 2312, if the couponis determined not to be valid, the ICN real time application may send amessage to the POS terminal via the ICN network and ICN data bridge toreject an invalid coupon. Then, in step 2314, the ICN real timeapplication may write invalid coupon redemption attempt and transactiondetail data to the ICN database. In step 2316, the ICN real timeapplication may send a message to POS terminal via the ICN network andICN data bridge to redeem a valid coupon. In step 2318, once the couponis validated and redeemed by the POS, the ICN POS data bridge softwaremay transmit specified data elements from each paper coupon to the ICNdatabase. In step 2320, the scanned coupon data elements may be storedin the ICN database along with the associated transaction detailelements. In step 2322, at the end of the cashier's shift, the storebookkeeper may reconcile the value of the coupons in the cash draw withthe totals accumulated by the POS system. In step 2324, on a regularbasis, the reconciled coupons from each store may be bundled togetherand shipped to the retailer's headquarters. In step 2326, the retailer'saccounting department may log into the ICN promotion manager and run acoupon audit report which provides detailed and summary information byindividual store and date. In step 2328, an audit report may be sent tothe manufacturer for approval. Once approved, the retailer or retailer'sagent may authorize the destruction of the paper coupons, therebyremoving them from circulation. In step 2330, on a predeterminedschedule, the ICN ACH settlement system may produce invoices for allcoupon promotions which have been approved for billing. In step 2332,the ICN ACH settlement system may debit the manufacturer's pre-assignedbank account for each retailer. In step 2334, the ICN ACH settlementsystem may credit the retailer's pre-assigned bank account.

FIG. 24 illustrates an embodiment of the invention in which a papercoupon is processed. In an example of this embodiment, the ICN validatesthe unique serial number of a paper coupon which includes a uniqueserial number. In step 2402, a consumer may obtain a paper coupon codedwith GS1 databar. In step 2404, during checkout, the consumer mayprovide the paper coupon to the cashier who scans them in or theconsumer scans in the coupons himself or herself. In step 2406, adetermination is made as to whether the GS1 databar includes a uniqueserial number. In step 2408, the unique serial number may be transmittedby the ICN POS data bridge to the ICN real time application (PRS). Instep 2410, the ICN real time application (PRS) may query the couponmaster table in the ICN database to determine if the coupon associatedwith this unique serial number is valid and had not been redeemedpreviously. In step 2412, a determination is made as to whether thecoupon is valid. If it is determined that the coupon is not valid, theICN real time application (PRS) may send a coupon denied message to theICN data bridge as in step 2430. Then, in step 2432, the ICN POS databridge may send a coupon denied message to the POS terminal. In step2434, the POS terminal may not approve the coupon, thereby rejecting thecoupon so no redemption occurs. In step 2436, the ICN database maygenerate a coupon denied activity report that it may send to themanufacturer or media company which distributed the coupon. If thecoupon is determined to be valid, the ICN real time application (PRS)may send a coupon approved message to the ICN data bridge, as in step2414. In step 2416, the ICN POS data bridge may send a coupon approvedmessage to the POS terminal. In step 2418, the POS terminal may redeemthe coupon and apply the discount. In step 2420, the ICN POS data bridgemay send a redemption confirmation message to the ICN real timeapplication (PRS) with specified data elements. In step 2422, the ICNreal time application (PRS) may write the data elements to the ICNdatabase. In step 2424, on a predetermined schedule, such as weekly ormonthly, the ICN ACH settlement system may produce invoices for allcoupon promotions which have been approved for billing. In step 2426,the ICN ACH settlement system may debit the manufacturer's pre-assignedbank account for each retailer. In step 2428, the ICN ACH settlementsystem may credit the retailer's pre-assigned bank account.

FIG. 25 shows an embodiment of a paper coupon, in accordance with anembodiment of the invention. On paper coupon 2506 is shown a label ofthe coupon as a manufacturer's coupon 2510 and a description of the oneor more items 2506 the coupon may be redeemed against. An earlierversion of a bar code 2501 may be marked on the coupon alongside acurrent or newer version of a bar code 2504, such as GS1 databar.

In an aspect of the invention, the GS1 format may require the actualvalue of the coupon rather than a value code. For example, a $1.00coupon value may be represented by an actual value of 100 which may becoded directly in the barcode. The GS1 barcode allows for coding of theTarget UPC's within the barcode to better validate the coupon. The GS1barcode allows for serialization of each coupon, meaning every couponprinted may be given a unique number by the CPG company thus making itunique and potentially eliminating some fraud.

When a paper coupon is scanned using some prior techniques, very littleinformation is captured by the POS scanner, not enough information toallow for the clearing of paper electronically, which meant after thepaper coupon was scanned by the cashier it was ‘money’ and went into thetill. At the end of the shift, the cashier would remove the till andgive it to the store accountant or bookkeeper who would then settle thetill. Settling the till involves counting the value of the paper couponsas well as the cash, debit, and credits and verifying that the totals inthe till match the total provided by the POS system. Then the papercoupons would be bundled together and sent on a truck to the retailer'sHQ. From there all the coupons from all the stores would be bundledtogether and sent to the retailer's clearing agent where they would behand counted and separated by CPG and MOC within each CPG. With the GS1barcode there is the opportunity to capture enough details of the papercoupon to allow for an electronic clearing of the paper coupon. Thiswould be an advantageous opportunity, after the store bookkeeper settlesthe paper coupons by cashier the coupon could be removed out ofcirculation by destroying the coupon and the coupon would be clearedelectronically by ICN.

Although the embodiments of FIGS. 22 to 25 and related descriptions havebeen described in terms of a paper coupon, other physically durablesubstrate coupons and/or incentives are encompassed within theseembodiments of the invention. For example, coupons may be formed throughplastic or composite materials.

Based on the foregoing it should be apparent that various exemplaryembodiments provide a method, apparatus and computer program(s) tovalidate and redeem coupons.

FIG. 26 is a logic flow diagram that illustrates the operation of amethod, and a result of execution of computer program instructions, inaccordance with exemplary embodiments. In accordance with theseexemplary embodiments the method performs, at Block 2605, a step ofscanning, at a POS terminal located at a retail store, couponinformation of a coupon. A step of determining data elements whichinclude product code information of an item to be purchased and thecoupon information of the coupon is performed at Block 2610. The methodperforms, at Block 2615, a step of transmitting the data elementsthrough a network to an ICN server for validation and redemption. TheICN server is at a location that is remote from the retail store. A stepof validating, at the ICN server, the coupon information based at leastin part on the product code information is performed at Block 2620. Inresponse to validating the data elements at the ICN server, the methodperforms, at Block 2625, a step of transmitting first coupon relatedinformation through the network to the POS terminal. A step oftransmitting redeemed coupon related information to the ICN serverthrough the network. The redeemed coupon related information includesidentification information from the product purchased, an applicationidentifier, and retailer identification information is performed atBlock 2630 in response to successful redemption of the coupon. Inresponse to receiving the redeemed coupon related information, themethod performs, at Block 2635, a step of storing, by the ICN server,the redeemed coupon related information in a redeemed coupon database. Astep of generating a coupon audit report based on the redeemed coupondatabase is performed at Block 2640. The method performs, at Block 2645,a step of transmitting the coupon audit report to a manufacturer. Inresponse to receiving approval for at least a portion of the couponaudit report, the method also performs, at Block 2650, a step ofdebiting a bank account assigned to the manufacturer based on theportion of the coupon audit report that was approved and crediting abank account assigned to the retailer based on the portion of the couponaudit report that was approved.

The various blocks shown in FIG. 26 may be viewed as method steps,and/or as operations that result from operation of computer programcode, and/or as a plurality of coupled logic circuit elementsconstructed to carry out the associated function(s).

FIG. 27 illustrates a simplified signaling diagram in accordance with anembodiment. At time 2705, a POS terminal 2701 receives couponinformation during a on-going transaction, for example, by scanning acoupon, a customer account ID card (which may be associated with variouscoupons in a database), etc. The POS terminal 2701 then determines dataelements which include the coupon information and information of an itemto be purchased. At time 2710, the POS terminal 2701 sends the dataelements to an ICN server 2702 which is located at a separate/remotelocation (such as a centralized location serving multiple retail storesfor example). The data elements may also include data elements foradditional coupon/items.

At time 2715, the ICN server 2702 validates the coupon using theinformation of the item to be purchased (such as product codeinformation). The ICN server 2702 may also validate the coupon based onthe expiration date, whether or not the coupon has been previouslyredeemed, etc. If the coupon is validated, the ICN server 2702 sendsfirst coupon related information to the POS terminal 2701 at time 2720.The first coupon related information may include coupon codes, a couponvalue code, etc.

Using the first coupon related information, the POS terminal 2701 mayredeem the coupon and complete the transaction at time 2725. Once thecoupon has been successful redeemed the POS terminal 2701 sends redeemedcoupon related information to the ICN server 2702 at time 2730. Theredeemed coupon related information may identify the product purchased,GS1 application identifiers, and/or the retailer. In response toreceiving the redeemed coupon related information, the ICN server 2702stores the redeemed coupon related information in a redeemed coupondatabase.

At some later time 2740 (such as, at the end of the day, after a givennumber of redemptions, etc. for example), the ICN server 2702 generatesa coupon audit report based on the information stored in the redeemedcoupon database. The ICN server 2702 then sends this coupon audit reportto a manufacturer 2703 at time 2745.

The manufacturer 2703 may then review the coupon audit report and eitherapprove the full report or selectively approve portions of the report.The manufacturer 2703 then sends approval for at least a portion of thecoupon audit report to the ICN server 2702 at time 2750

At time 2755, the ICN server 2702 debits a bank account assigned to themanufacturer based on the portion of the coupon audit report that wasapproved and credits a bank account assigned to the retailer based onthe portion of the coupon audit report that was approved. If the couponaudit report was based on information from a number of retailers the ICNserver 2702 may credit bank accounts associated with each retailer basedon a single coupon audit report approval.

FIG. 28 shows a simplified diagram of various devices in accordance withanother embodiment. This embodiment demonstrates a modular approachwhere various actions are performed by several devices rather than beingcentralized in a single device. The system 2800 includes three separateICN servers 2810, 2820, 2830 which communicate with a central billingserver 2840. Each ICN servers 2810, 2820, 2830 may handle couponvalidation for the associated devices and then relays the redemptioninformation to central billing server 2840. The central billing server2840 may then generate audit reports and perform crediting/debitingaccordingly. As non-limiting embodiments, the central billing server2840 may be an ICN server or a third party server.

As shown, ICN server 2820 serves various devices 2822, 2824, 2826located in a single location 2828 (such as in a retail store), while ICNserver 2830 serves devices 2832 in one location while two other devices2834, 2836 are located at a second different location 2838.

Additionally, the embodiment in FIG. 28 also shows additional devicesused as point-of-sale (POS) devices. In addition to traditional POSdevices 2812, 2816, 2822, 2824, 2832, 2834, such as a register forexample, a PC 2814, a scanner 2826 and/or a self-checkout POS 2836 maybe used. As a non-limiting example, the PC 2814 may be used for on-linepurchases and to submit coupon information to the ICN server 2810 forvalidation (for example, by selecting a ‘purchase’ option on astore-based web service hosted by a store which causes the order to besubmitted to the ICN server 2810 by a host computer).

As shown, the POS devices 2812, 2814, 2816, 2822, 2824, 2826, 2832,2834, 2836 are separated into two separate zones 2850, 2855. Whenvalidating coupons, the ICN servers 2810, 2820, 2830 may consider whichzone may apply. For example, some coupons may be valid in a zonerepresenting a limited geographic regions and/or a zone representinglimited stores.

In addition to validating a paper coupon by reading the barcode andsending this data to a centralized database, an exemplary embodimentaccommodates the reading an embedded serial number, or validation codeto provide uniqueness to each coupon. In a non-limiting embodiment, theICN server receives, from the POS, coupon information that includes aserial number that uniquely identifies an instance of coupon that isbeing validated. Since the instance of coupon is uniquely identified,the ICN server can make sure the same coupon isn't used twice and/or cantrack the specific coupon (for example to see how quickly the coupon isused, who used the coupon, etc.).

When a manufacturer or retailer includes a serial number in the barcodeof the coupon that is issued, this information could be provided in realtime with the other coupon data to the ICN database. Since the serialnumber would be unique for that particular coupon, each number could beadded to a database such that any subsequent attempt to redeem/validatethat same coupon could be automatically rejected because the systemwould have already recorded the processing of the original serialnumber. Every time a coupon is scanned, the information can be validatedagainst the central system to ensure that the particular coupon has notbeen redeemed before. The coupon data could be entered into a table asit is scanned in order to effectively take the coupon out ofcirculation. Therefore, the coupon could in fact be destroyed or simplystored in some secure location whereby it would not be necessary to sendthe actual paper coupon through the normal accounting solution as usedin the process of paper counting.

In a further non-limiting embodiment, validating coupons may includeverifying that the serial number is loaded in a database of authorizedcoupon serial numbers. As coupons are issued (or printed) they can beadded to the database in order to ensure only those coupons that areactually made/issued are authorized. Additionally, the database may beupdated to remove coupons that are no long valid (such as those thatexpired, those that redeemed, those that were not mailed, etc. forexample).

All coupons and serial numbers for a specified range of offers may bepreloaded into a database. As an example, if a company were to issue 1million coupons for detergent, the serial numbers for these 1 millioncoupons would be added to the table/database prior to the point that thecoupons were made available to the market. As the consumers come to thestore to redeem their offers and the cashier scans each of the coupons,the serial number would be read by the point-of-sale system and thatdata is provided to the ICN system. The serial number for each couponwould be flagged as being redeemed such that at any moment the currentstatus of every coupon issued in the original 1 million offers isavailable from the application.

To address issues with home printed coupons customers include a uniquenumber which is normally some unique identifier by customer householdselect coupons on an Internet site or allowed to print these coupons ontheir home printer. The database is updated in real time with the serialnumber of each coupon as the customer prints the offer. The process ofselecting and printing the coupon actually activates it and places thatserial number in the table of the ICN system. If the coupon has not beenprocessed through the normal solution of Internet printing, the couponwould not be validated when it is scanned at the store because theactual serial number would not be active on the file. This provides atrue-real-time-validation capability for home printed coupons. Inanother non-limiting embodiment, the ICN server may receive anindication that a coupon is printed (for example by a home computer). Inresponse to the indication, the ICN server may add the serial numberthat uniquely identifies the coupon to a database of authorized couponserial numbers.

In a further non-limiting embodiment, when validating coupons the ICNserver may verify whether each coupon is indicated by a database ofunacceptable coupons. This database of unacceptable coupons (or negativefile) can indicate coupons which are not to be accepted (for example,due to known fraud issues with the coupon, etc.).

Any coupons that are known to be bad or fraudulent could be added to a“Negative or Bad coupon table” (for example, a database of coupons thatare not acceptable). The coupon data is sent in real-time throughnetwork as the coupons are scanned at the store and validated againstthis database to ensure that the coupon is not on the negative file. Ifit is, then the system can respond to the store cashier not to acceptthese particular coupons.

A master coupon is a single paper coupon controlling any number ofattached digital coupons. When the ICN server receives a master couponfor validation, the ICN server can look up any coupons associated withthe master coupon and then validate the looked up coupons. Aftervalidating the associated coupons, the ICN server can provide the POSdevice details for the coupons associated with the master coupon.

A master coupon facilitates digital FSI, mailers with multiple digitalcoupons, etc without the need for a known indicator such as a loyaltycard. The GS1 Databar coupon can represent a unique instance of thatcoupon for example, where three fields (the Company Prefix, the OfferCode, and the Serial Number) provide a unique identification of themaster coupon. Using an ICN server's paper validation capabilities incombination with digital qualification/execution capabilities, oneserialized GS1 Databar coupon essentially becomes a master coupon thatenables multiple attached digital coupons to be considered/executed.

A master coupon may be scanned and sent to the ICN server for validationbut not as part of the POS transaction. When the master coupon isdetected, the validation service responds in a special manner thatacknowledges the scan of the master coupon, but does not pass the couponinto the actual transaction. This would work similar to when the ICNserver sends down a rejection, however, it wouldn't stop the transactionand/or display anything.

For FSI or other media such as mailers with multiple coupons, ratherthan printing a barcode for each coupon and having consumers cut andpresent each one in the store, instead a single master coupon (such as aserialized GS1 Databar coupon which represents the multiple digitalcoupons) could be scanned. The paper validation framework intercepts thescan and executes additional logic, including but not limited todispensing additional digital coupons. FSI related extreme couponing aswell as various forms of fraud could be greatly reduced and/oreliminated. Executed in this manner this also solves problemsencountered when companies have attempted loading offers into the POSand using a secondary customer loyalty card.

For targeted mailers CPG's could use the same serial number for knownhouseholds and distinctly identify which households redeemed coupons(and may also track where/when the household redeemed the coupons).Additional analysis and continuity promotions may then be preformed thatwould otherwise be impractical/impossible. This can be especiallyeffective for retailers who have no loyalty program where such datagathering is more difficult. CPUs would have access to this informationin real time rather than months after the fact, making CPG drivencontinuity programs a very agile possibility. Additionally, CPG's wouldalso be able to track liability and redemption rates.

Smart phones could image/lookup the special serialized coupon to performfunctions such as reporting metrics about the promotion. A consumercould look up how many coupons the master coupon contains, what thecoupons are, which have or have not been used, when they expire, etc.The master coupon could even be used to pull up a digital copy of thewhole FSI content for consumers to review (in case they clipped thebarcode and discarded the rest of the FSI paper creative).

FSI paper coupons suffer from a major problem that crops up when abarcode is incorrectly constructed. Once printed and distributed, thereis no way to correct a barcode on a paper coupon. However, executingdigitally and riding off a serialized GS1 Databar coupon any/all ofdigital coupons contained within could be modified/corrected at nearlyany time.

Since every item in the basket may be checked during the checkoutprocess, the ICN server can process both digital and paper coupondiscounts in the same transaction. The ICN server also has the abilityto identify the specific product where the redemption occurs. That'sgood when redemptions occur for the promoted product and not so goodwhen it occurs on non-promoted products.

This information may then be collected with redemption information fromother transactions, such as in a database for example. The redemptioninformation database may then be analyzed to identify how often thecoupon is redeemed properly, how often the coupon is redeemed fornon-promoted products, which non-promoted products are used, etc.

In another non-limiting embodiment, the ICN server receives redemptioninformation for transactions indicating which coupons have been redeemedin the transaction and the item purchased with the coupon. The ICNserver can store the redemption information in a redemption database andthen, using redemption information from multiple transaction, generatinga redemption data report. The redemption data report can include, foreach transaction of at least one transaction, information identifying anitem purchased redeeming at least one coupon during the transaction.This information may be presented as a table, for example indicating howmany coupons were redeemed using a given item, or as a list indicatingthe most commonly used items (such as the top 20, top 10, etc.). Thereport may also provide statistical data (such as percentage ofredemptions using the given item.

The ICN server may also enforce strict coupon/voucher criteria. Forexample, the WIC (‘Women Infants and Children’) program is a federallysubsidized nutrition program. The WIC program issues paper voucherswhich allow the holder to receive specific food items in the grocerystore for free. The paper vouchers may have specific items written onthem which are eligible to be redeemed, for example, 32 Oz TROPICANA OJno Pulp, or 16.5 Oz RICE KRISPIES cereal. In order to redeem the voucherthe items are presented to the cashier for inspection. Traditionally,the cashier checks the item against the list of available productswritten on the voucher and the cashier must separate them from any otherproducts being purchased and ring up a separate transaction.

Using the ICN technology, the system can validate these products in realtime and deliver discounts for ‘Free’ items. This would convert theprogram from a manual process to an electronic one. This automationusing ICN servers saves the retailer (and the government) time and moneyby converting WIC transactions from a manual execution to an electronicexecution.

This can also provide better reporting and validation to the governmenton what is being purchased. Additionally, the electronic validationallows the retailer to avoid separate transactions which speeds up thecheckout process.

In another non-limiting embodiment, the ICN server analyzes theredemption information in order to detect an alert event. When an alertevent is detected, the ICN server generates a notification that thealert event occurred. Notification may be provided by sending an emailto the store, adding a note to log, sending a text message to a storemanager, and/or any other communication.

An alert event can be any set of criteria being met that is deemedimportant enough to warrant a quick notification. Such events mayinclude when a coupon is redeemed even though it was indicated asinvalid; when the account number for customer in a given customer classis used (such as indicating a VIP client, for example); when a coupon isredeemed a price different from that authorized (such as using anoverride feature); when a given clerk redeems a threshold number ofcoupons at prices that not authorized; when a coupon is redeemed a pricesufficiently different from an authorized price (such as by overridingthe coupon price by over $1.00); when an average amount of time betweentransactions by a specific clerk exceeds a threshold time; and/or when athreshold number of manual inputs of coupon information indicates apotential point-of-sale device failure.

Since the ICN server has the ability to monitor cashier activity in realtime during a transaction, it can provide immediate alerts to theappropriate store personnel (such as, in the form of an email or textmessage for example). The ICN server can identify when a cashier ignoresa fraud alert message and still accepts the paper coupon. The ICN servercan also track other forms of potentially fraudulent behavior. Forexample, the ICN server can detect instances where a transaction isreduced to $0.00 by the scanning of many paper coupons (which couldindicate a cashier committing fraud on behalf of a customer); extremecouponing events; etc.

Cashier monitoring also enables the retailer to identify that aparticular customer is checking out at a specific lane (such as throughthe use of a loyalty card, customer/family specific serial numbers,etc.). This alert could notify the manager of a ‘Platinum’ type customeris in the process of checking out. The store manager could stop by togreet or help the customer (such as by bringing their groceries to thecar for example). This could also be used to identify a customer for anegative reason, such as those that are suspected of fraud of some typeand/or banned the store.

The ICN server may also identify trends in a given cashier's behavior.For example, the ICN server can detect when a high volume of ‘keyed’ ormanually entered coupons occurs which could indicate a hardware orsoftware problem with a POS terminal or a scanner. This may beidentified by comparing the cashier's (or terminal's) past history (forexample for the last month) to a short term history (for example for thecurrent day). The ICN server may also track the time betweentransactions in order to determine the amount of idle time for a givencashier.

Multiple ICN systems could be connected to a central validation center.In this configuration, multiple retail entities may all be connected toa single source. Thus, the individual retailer/local systems could beindependent products. In this environment, the point-of-sale system,electronic load to card, or other validation product could be connectedfrom multiple retailers to a central ICN system. This would allow amyriad of retailers and systems to all be connected and operate as one.

This works similar in the ICN system above and allows a multitude ofretailers with different systems to be connected to a single pointallowing the transfer of monies and/or information that allows anational and centralized control for the industry. The system allows thedifferent solutions used by each Retailer product to operate onlarge-scale and to connect to a number of different operating platformsand solutions.

In a further non-limiting embodiment, the ICN may validate coupons usingzone information. The zone information may be based on the location ofthe POS terminal, the retailer, the type of transaction (such asin-store, on-line, etc.) and/or other criteria.

The coupon validation service also enables the use of coupon validationzones. Validation zones is a mechanism for providing a configuration ofa coupon validation rule sets at varying degrees of granularity. Ratherthan enforcing a monolithic set of coupon validation rules, each zonecould enforce an independent set of rules. Each zone could leverage itsown unique combination of validation rules, for example, the ability ofa retailer's stores to accept coupons encoded with the special 992family code.

A coupon validation zones may be composed in a number of way. A zonecould partition a retailer's store network across a number ofdimensions, ranging from macro scale (such as by retailer banners,arbitrary geographic store groups) down to the micro scale (such as byindividual store and even individual terminals within stores).Separately, the coupons themselves could be assigned to validation zonesbased on either the company prefix (or prefixes in the case of the GS1DataBar) encoded in the coupon, or a collection of related companyprefixes rolling up into a brand.

An exemplary embodiment provides a method for validating and redeemingcoupons. The method includes receiving (such as by a receiver forexample), at a server, data elements from a point-of-sale device forvalidation and redemption during a transaction. The data elementsinclude product code information of an item to be purchased and couponinformation. The coupon information is received at the POS devicelocated at a first location and the server is at a second location thatis remote from the first location. The method includes validating (suchas by a processor for example) at least one coupon based at least inpart on the product code information and the coupon information. Themethod also includes, in response to validating the at least one coupon,sending (such as via a transmitter for example) a coupon message thatindicates whether the at least one coupon has been validated forredemption in the transaction.

In another exemplary embodiment of the method above, the couponinformation includes a serial number that uniquely identifies aninstance of coupon and the at least one coupon includes the instance ofthe coupon. Validating the at least one coupon may include verifyingthat the serial number is loaded in a database of authorized couponserial numbers.

In a further exemplary embodiment of the method above, validating the atleast one coupon includes verifying, for each of the at least onecoupon, whether the coupon is not loaded in a database of unacceptablecoupons.

In another exemplary embodiment of the method above, the method alsoincludes receiving an indication that an instance of a coupon isprinted. The digital coupon includes a serial number that uniquelyidentifies the instance of the coupon. In response to receiving theindication that the instance of the coupon is printed, the methodincludes adding the serial number to a database of authorized couponserial numbers.

In a further exemplary embodiment of the method above, the couponinformation includes a master coupon information. The method alsoincludes, in response to receiving the master coupon information,identifying at least two coupons. The at least two coupons areassociated with the master coupon and the at least one coupon includesthe at least two coupons.

In another exemplary embodiment of the method above, the method alsoincludes adding first coupon details for a first coupon to a coupondatabase and receiving second coupon details for the first coupon. Inresponse to receiving the second coupon details for the first coupon,the method includes updating the coupon database with the second coupondetails. Receiving the data elements occurs after updating the coupondatabase. The at least one coupon includes the first coupon and thecoupon message also includes at least a portion of the second coupondetails.

In a further exemplary embodiment of the method above, the method alsoincludes receiving redemption information for the transaction indicatingthat the at least one coupon has been redeemed. In response to receivingthe redemption information, the method includes storing the redemptioninformation in a redemption database. The method also includesgenerating a redemption data report based on the redemption informationdatabase regarding at least one transaction. The redemption data reportincludes, for each transaction of at least one transaction, informationidentifying an item purchased redeeming at least one coupon during thetransaction.

In another exemplary embodiment of the method above, the coupon is aWomen Infants and Children program voucher.

In a further exemplary embodiment of the method above, the point-of-saledevice includes a computer performing an on-line purchase.

In another exemplary embodiment of the method above, validating the atleast one coupon is further based on a zone assigned to thepoint-of-sale device.

In a further exemplary embodiment of the method above, the methodincludes receiving redemption information for the transaction indicatingthat the at least one coupon has been redeemed and analyzing theredemption information in order to detect an alert event. In response todetecting an alert event, the method also includes generating anotification that the alert event occurred. Generating the notificationmay include sending a message to the first location. An alert event maybe: when redemption of a coupon which was indicated as invalid isperformed; when the data elements include an account number for customerin a given customer class; when redemption of a coupon at a price thatis not authorized is performed; when a threshold number of redemptionsby a specific clerk of coupons at prices that are not authorized isreach; when redemption of a coupon at a price sufficiently differentfrom a price that is authorized is performed; when an average amount oftime between transactions by a specific clerk exceeds a threshold time;and/or when a threshold number of manual inputs of coupon informationindicates a potential point-of-sale device failure.

Another exemplary embodiment provides an apparatus for validating andredeeming coupons. The apparatus includes a processor; and a memorystoring computer program code. The memory and the computer program codeare configured to, with the processor, cause the apparatus to performactions. The actions include receiving, at a server, data elements froma point-of-sale device for validation and redemption during atransaction. The data elements include product code information of anitem to be purchased and coupon information. The coupon information isreceived at the POS device located at a first location and the server isat a second location that is remote from the first location. The actionsalso include validating at least one coupon based at least in part onthe product code information and the coupon information and, in responseto validating the at least one coupon, sending a coupon message thatindicates whether the at least one coupon has been validated forredemption in the transaction.

In a further exemplary embodiment of the apparatus above, the couponinformation includes a serial number that uniquely identifies aninstance of coupon. The at least one coupon includes the instance of thecoupon. When validating the at least one coupon, the at least one memoryand the computer program code are further configured to cause theapparatus to verify that the serial number is loaded in a database ofauthorized coupon serial numbers.

In another exemplary embodiment of the apparatus above, when validatingthe at least one coupon, the at least one memory and the computerprogram code are further configured to cause the apparatus to verify,for each of the at least one coupon, whether the coupon is not loaded ina database of unacceptable coupons.

In a further exemplary embodiment of the apparatus above, the actionsalso include to receive an indication that an instance of a coupon isprinted. The digital coupon includes a serial number that uniquelyidentifies the instance of the coupon. In response to receiving theindication that the instance of the coupon is printed, the actionsinclude to add the serial number to a database of authorized couponserial numbers.

In another exemplary embodiment of the apparatus above, the couponinformation includes a master coupon information. The at least onememory and the computer program code are further configured to cause theapparatus, in response to receiving the master coupon information, toidentify at least two coupons. The at least two coupons are associatedwith the master coupon and the at least one coupon includes the at leasttwo coupons.

In a further exemplary embodiment of the apparatus above, the actionsinclude to add first coupon details for a first coupon to a coupondatabase, to receive second coupon details for the first coupon, and, inresponse to receiving the second coupon details for the first coupon, toupdate the coupon database with the second coupon details. Receiving thedata elements occurs after updating the coupon database. The at leastone coupon includes the first coupon and the coupon message furtherincludes at least a portion of the second coupon details.

In another exemplary embodiment of the apparatus above, the at least onememory and the computer program code are further configured to cause theapparatus: to receive redemption information for the transactionindicating that the at least one coupon has been redeemed; in responseto receiving the redemption information, to store the redemptioninformation in a redemption database; and to generate a redemption datareport based on the redemption information database regarding at leastone transaction. The redemption data report includes, for eachtransaction of at least one transaction, information identifying an itempurchased redeeming at least one coupon during the transaction.

In a further exemplary embodiment of the apparatus above, the coupon isa Women Infants and Children program voucher.

In another exemplary embodiment of the apparatus above the point-of-saledevice includes a computer performing an on-line purchase.

In a further exemplary embodiment of the apparatus above, validating theat least one coupon is further based on a zone assigned to thepoint-of-sale device.

In another exemplary embodiment of the apparatus above, the at least onememory and the computer program code are further configured to cause theapparatus: to receive redemption information for the transactionindicating that the at least one coupon has been redeemed; to analyzethe redemption information in order to detect an alert event; and, inresponse to detecting an alert event, to generate a notification thatthe alert event occurred. When generating the notification, the at leastone memory and the computer program code may be further configured tocause the apparatus to send a message to the first location. An alertevent may be: when redemption of a coupon which was indicated as invalidis performed; when the data elements include an account number forcustomer in a given customer class; when redemption of a coupon at aprice that is not authorized is performed; when a threshold number ofredemptions by a specific clerk of coupons at prices that are notauthorized is reach; when redemption of a coupon at a price sufficientlydifferent from a price that is authorized is performed; when an averageamount of time between transactions by a specific clerk exceeds athreshold time; and/or when a threshold number of manual inputs ofcoupon information indicates a potential point-of-sale device failure.

In a further exemplary embodiment of the apparatus above, the apparatusis embodied in an integrated circuit.

In another exemplary embodiment of the apparatus above, the apparatus isembodied in a server (such as an ICN server for example).

A further exemplary embodiment provides a computer readable medium forvalidating and redeeming coupons. The computer readable medium istangibly encoded with a computer program executable by a processor toperform actions. The actions include receiving, at a server, dataelements from a point-of-sale device for validation and redemptionduring a transaction, the data elements including product codeinformation of an item to be purchased and coupon information. Thecoupon information is received at the POS device located at a firstlocation and the server is at a second location that is remote from thefirst location. The actions also include validating at least one couponbased at least in part on the product code information and the couponinformation; and, in response to validating the at least one coupon,sending a coupon message that indicates whether the at least one couponhas been validated for redemption in the transaction.

In another exemplary embodiment of the computer readable media above,the coupon information includes a serial number that uniquely identifiesan instance of coupon. The at least one coupon includes the instance ofthe coupon. Validating the at least one coupon may include verifyingthat the serial number is loaded in a database of authorized couponserial numbers.

In a further exemplary embodiment of the computer readable media above,validating the at least one coupon includes verifying, for each of theat least one coupon, whether the coupon is not loaded in a database ofunacceptable coupons.

In another exemplary embodiment of the computer readable media above,the actions also include: receiving an indication that an instance of acoupon is printed. The digital coupon includes' a serial number thatuniquely identifies the instance of the coupon. In response to receivingthe indication that the instance of the coupon is printed, the actionsalso include adding the serial number to a database of authorized couponserial numbers.

In a further exemplary embodiment of the computer readable media above,the coupon information includes a master coupon information. The actionsalso include, in response to receiving the master coupon information,identifying at least two coupons. The at least two coupons areassociated with the master coupon, and the at least one coupon includesthe at least two coupons.

In another exemplary embodiment of the computer readable media above,the actions also include adding first coupon details for a first couponto a coupon database; receiving second coupon details for the firstcoupon; and, in response to receiving the second coupon details for thefirst coupon, updating the coupon database with the second coupondetails. Receiving the data elements occurs after updating the coupondatabase. The at least one coupon includes the first coupon and thecoupon message also includes at least a portion of the second coupondetails.

In a further exemplary embodiment of the computer readable media above,the actions also include: receiving redemption information for thetransaction indicating that the at least one coupon has been redeemed;in response to receiving the redemption information, storing theredemption information in a redemption database; and generating aredemption data report based on the redemption information databaseregarding at least one transaction. The redemption data report includes,for each transaction of at least one transaction, informationidentifying an item purchased redeeming at least one coupon during thetransaction.

In another exemplary embodiment of the computer readable media above,the coupon is a Women Infants and Children program voucher.

In a further exemplary embodiment of the computer readable media above,the point-of-sale device includes a computer performing an on-linepurchase.

In another exemplary embodiment of the computer readable media above,validating the at least one coupon is further based on a zone assignedto the point-of-sale device.

In a further exemplary embodiment of the computer readable media above,the actions also include: receiving redemption information for thetransaction indicating that the at least one coupon has been redeemed;analyzing the redemption information in order to detect an alert event;and, in response to detecting an alert event, generating a notificationthat the alert event occurred. Generating the notification may includesending a message to the first location. An alert event may include:when redemption of a coupon which was indicated as invalid is performed;when the data elements include an account number for customer in a givencustomer class; when redemption of a coupon at a price that is notauthorized is performed; when a threshold number of redemptions by aspecific clerk of coupons at prices that are not authorized is reach;when redemption of a coupon at a price sufficiently different from aprice that is authorized is performed; when an average amount of timebetween transactions by a specific clerk exceeds a threshold time;and/or when a threshold number of manual inputs of coupon informationindicates a potential point-of-sale device failure.

In another exemplary embodiment of the computer readable media above,the computer readable medium is a non-transitory computer readablemedium (e.g., CD-ROM, RAM, flash memory, etc.).

In a further exemplary embodiment of the computer readable media above,the computer readable medium is a storage medium.

Another exemplary embodiment provides an apparatus for validating andredeeming coupons. The apparatus includes means for receiving (such as areceiver for example), at the apparatus, data elements from apoint-of-sale device for validation and redemption during a transaction,the data elements including product code information of an item to bepurchased and coupon information. The coupon information is received atthe POS device located at a first location and the apparatus is at asecond location that is remote from the first location. The apparatusalso includes means for validating (such as a processor for example), atleast one coupon based at least in part on the product code informationand the coupon information; and means for sending (such as a transmitterfor example), a coupon message that indicates whether the at least onecoupon has been validated for redemption in the transaction in responseto validating the at least one coupon.

In a further exemplary embodiment of the apparatus above, the couponinformation includes a serial number that uniquely identifies aninstance of coupon. The at least one coupon includes the instance of thecoupon. Validating the at least one coupon may include verifying thatthe serial number is loaded in a database of authorized coupon serialnumbers.

In another exemplary embodiment of the apparatus above, the validatingmeans includes means for verifying, for each of the at least one coupon,whether the coupon is not loaded in a database of unacceptable coupons.

In a further exemplary embodiment of the apparatus above, the apparatusalso includes means for receiving an indication that an instance of acoupon is printed. The digital coupon includes a serial number thatuniquely identifies the instance of the coupon. The apparatus alsoincludes means for adding the serial number to a database of authorizedcoupon serial numbers in response to receiving the indication that theinstance of the coupon is printed.

In another exemplary embodiment of the apparatus above, the couponinformation includes a master coupon information. The apparatus alsoincludes means for identifying at least two coupons in response toreceiving the master coupon information. The at least two coupons areassociated with the master coupon and the at least one coupon includesthe at least two coupons.

In a further exemplary embodiment of the apparatus above, the apparatusalso includes means for adding first coupon details for a first couponto a coupon database; means for receiving second coupon details for thefirst coupon; and means for updating the coupon database with the secondcoupon details in response to receiving the second coupon details forthe first coupon. Receiving the data elements occurs after updating thecoupon database. The at least one coupon includes the first coupon andthe coupon message further includes at least a portion of the secondcoupon details.

In another exemplary embodiment of the apparatus above, the apparatusincludes means for receiving redemption information for the transactionindicating that the at least one coupon has been redeemed; means forstoring the redemption information in a redemption database in responseto receiving the redemption information; and means for generating aredemption data report based on the redemption information databaseregarding at least one transaction. The redemption data report includes,for each transaction of at least one transaction, informationidentifying an item purchased redeeming at least one coupon during thetransaction.

In a further exemplary embodiment of the apparatus above, the coupon isa Women Infants and Children program voucher.

In another exemplary embodiment of the apparatus above, thepoint-of-sale device includes a computer performing an on-line purchase.

In a further exemplary embodiment of the apparatus above, validating theat least one coupon is further based on a zone assigned to thepoint-of-sale device.

In another exemplary embodiment of the apparatus above, the apparatusincludes means for receiving redemption information for the transactionindicating that the at least one coupon has been redeemed; means foranalyzing the redemption information in order to detect an alert event;and means for generating a notification that the alert event occurred inresponse to detecting an alert event. The notification generating meansmay include means for sending a message to the first location. An alertevent may include: when redemption of a coupon which was indicated asinvalid is performed; when the data elements include an account numberfor customer in a given customer class; when redemption of a coupon at aprice that is not authorized is performed; when a threshold number ofredemptions by a specific clerk of coupons at prices that are notauthorized is reach; when redemption of a coupon at a price sufficientlydifferent from a price that is authorized is performed; when an averageamount of time between transactions by a specific clerk exceeds athreshold time; and/or when a threshold number of manual inputs ofcoupon information indicates a potential point-of-sale device failure.

It is believed that embodiments of the invention and the attendantadvantages will be understood by the forgoing description. It is alsobelieved that it will be apparent that various changes may be made inthe form, construction and arrangement of the components thereof withoutdeparting from the scope and spirit of the invention or withoutsacrificing all of its material advantages. The form herein beforedescribed being merely an explanatory embodiment thereof. It is theintention of the following claims to encompass and include such changes.Moreover, while GS1 barcode 8110 application identifiers are referencedherein, the embodiments described herein also can apply to other barcodeidentifiers.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving, at a server, dataelements from a point-of-sale device for validation and redemptionduring a transaction, the data elements including product codeinformation of an item to be purchased and coupon information, where thecoupon information is received at the point-of-sale device located at afirst location, where the server is at a second location that is remotefrom the first location; validating at least one coupon based at leastin part on the product code information and the coupon information; andin response to validating the at least one coupon, sending a couponmessage that indicates whether the at least one coupon has beenvalidated for redemption in the transaction.
 2. The method of claim 1,where the coupon information comprises a serial number that uniquelyidentifies an instance of coupon, where the at least one couponcomprises the instance of the coupon.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherevalidating the at least one coupon comprises verifying that the serialnumber is loaded in a database of authorized coupon serial numbers. 4.The method of claim 1, where validating the at least one couponcomprises verifying, for each of the at least one coupon, whether thecoupon is not loaded in a database of unacceptable coupons.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: receiving an indication that aninstance of a coupon is printed, where the digital coupon comprises aserial number that uniquely identifies the instance of the coupon; andin response to receiving the indication that the instance of the couponis printed, adding the serial number to a database of authorized couponserial numbers.
 6. The method of claim 1, where the coupon informationcomprises a master coupon information, where the method furthercomprises, in response to receiving the master coupon information,identifying at least two coupons, where the at least two coupons areassociated with the master coupon, and where the at least one couponcomprises the at least two coupons.
 7. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: adding first coupon details for a first coupon to a coupondatabase; receiving second coupon details for the first coupon; and inresponse to receiving the second coupon details for the first coupon,updating the coupon database with the second coupon details, wherereceiving the data elements occurs after updating the coupon database,where the at least one coupon comprises the first coupon and where thecoupon message further comprises at least a portion of the second coupondetails.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receivingredemption information for the transaction indicating that the at leastone coupon has been redeemed; in response to receiving the redemptioninformation, storing the redemption information in a redemptiondatabase; and generating a redemption data report based on theredemption information database regarding at least one transaction,where the redemption data report comprises, for each transaction of atleast one transaction, information identifying an item purchasedredeeming at least one coupon during the transaction.
 9. The method ofclaim 1, where the coupon is a Women Infants and Children programvoucher.
 10. The method of claim 1, where the point-of-sale devicecomprises a computer performing an on-line purchase.
 11. The method ofclaim 1, where validating the at least one coupon is further based on azone assigned to the point-of-sale device.
 12. The method of claim 1,further comprising: receiving redemption information for the transactionindicating that the at least one coupon has been redeemed; analyzing theredemption information in order to detect an alert event; and inresponse to detecting an alert event, generating a notification that thealert event occurred.
 13. The method of claim 12, where generating thenotification comprises sending a message to the first location.
 14. Themethod of claim 12, where an alert event is one of: when redemption of acoupon which was indicated as invalid is performed; when the dataelements include an account number for customer in a given customerclass; when redemption of a coupon at a price that is not authorized isperformed; when a threshold number of redemptions by a specific clerk ofcoupons at prices that are not authorized is reach; when redemption of acoupon at a price sufficiently different from a price that is authorizedis performed; when an average amount of time between transactions by aspecific clerk exceeds a threshold time; and when a threshold number ofmanual inputs of coupon information indicates a potential point-of-saledevice failure.
 15. An apparatus, comprising a processor; and a memoryincluding computer program code, the memory and the computer programcode configured to, with the processor, cause the apparatus to performat least the following: receiving, at a server, data elements from apoint-of-sale device for validation and redemption during a transaction,the data elements including product code information of an item to bepurchased and coupon information, where the coupon information isreceived at the point-of-sale device located at a first location, wherethe server is at a second location that is remote from the firstlocation; validating at least one coupon based at least in part on theproduct code information and the coupon information; and in response tovalidating the at least one coupon, sending a coupon message thatindicates whether the at least one coupon has been validated forredemption in the transaction.
 16. The apparatus of claim 15, where theat least one memory and the computer program code are further configuredto cause the apparatus: to receive an indication that an instance of acoupon is printed, where the digital coupon comprises a serial numberthat uniquely identifies the instance of the coupon; and in response toreceiving the indication that the instance of the coupon is printed, toadd the serial number to a database of authorized coupon serial numbers.17. The apparatus of claim 15, where the at least one memory and thecomputer program code are further configured to cause the apparatus: toreceive redemption information for the transaction indicating that theat least one coupon has been redeemed; to analyze the redemptioninformation in order to detect an alert event; and in response todetecting an alert event, to generate a notification that the alertevent occurred.
 18. A computer readable medium tangibly encoded with acomputer program executable by a processor to perform actionscomprising: receiving, at a server, data elements from a point-of-saledevice for validation and redemption during a transaction, the dataelements including product code information of an item to be purchasedand coupon information, where the coupon information is received at thepoint-of-sale device located at a first location, where the server is ata second location that is remote from the first location; validating atleast one coupon based at least in part on the product code informationand the coupon information; and in response to validating the at leastone coupon, sending a coupon message that indicates whether the at leastone coupon has been validated for redemption in the transaction.
 19. Thecomputer readable medium of claim 18, where the actions furthercomprise: receiving an indication that an instance of a coupon isprinted, where the digital coupon comprises a serial number thatuniquely identifies the instance of the coupon; and in response toreceiving the indication that the instance of the coupon is printed,adding the serial number to a database of authorized coupon serialnumbers.
 20. The computer readable medium of claim 18, where the actionsfurther comprise: receiving redemption information for the transactionindicating that the at least one coupon has been redeemed; analyzing theredemption information in order to detect an alert event; and inresponse to detecting an alert event, generating a notification that thealert event occurred.